Is it correct to have pet animals especially birds??

[whitelotus]

Hi frnds,

Is it to correct to have birds and other animals as pets.............
aren't we taking their right to live life in their own way in their nature.
Though we love them and they us back......i had pets and they were like a family.
we take care of them,play with .... enjoy with them....
BUT......is there something wrong??

I feel like adopting a parrot or love birds but then i feel...am i doing right??

what do u guys think??

Thanks & Regards,
Whitelotus

[Sybilline]

Personally I think it’s okay to get birds as pets, and by that I mean I won’t freak out and preach if my neighbor has one, but personally I don’t want one myself. I find them so boring. At least in cages. Most of them don’t even like getting touched. They don’t even show a quarter of the affection that dogs do.

I suppose it’s not cool to keep them in cages. But I still don’t find myself making too much of a big deal out of it. Maybe someday, it will socially unacceptable and will be considered animal cruelty. Right and wrong really just depends on each person, and then collectively, as society.

Dogs on the other hand, have been bred to become human partners, for more than a thousand years. Unlike cats, dogs are more likely to die when left astray. They aren’t as good as hunting, especially if they were once owned (ie, not born on the streets, as most dogs in countries with weak animal welfare laws are). Plus they really are sociable beings so I think that’s okay.

[krishna]

Look after them,give them respect-food water-love.
Yes,this is ok.
In pure light and truth.
Krishna.

[amy green]

To me, the sight of a bird in a cage always makes me sad and ashamed of the human race. It is a creature designed to spend most of its time in flight! Aviaries are a little more humane.

I guess the key question is are they able to adapt back into the wild/natural environment...if not, they will be attacked by other wild birds.

[Sybilline]

Hi Amy,

Just sharing, when I was a little girl I thought chickens were flightless birds. So when I told my mom about it she laughed, and she told me they can’t fly as high as most birds but they can fly well above roofs of tall single-story houses. I was so surprised when she told me that. She said the reason I don’t see chickens fly, is because I always see them locked up in cages.

Soon after that I became more observant, and we moved to this small house where we had a neighbor who had a few chickens, just roaming free (a.k.a free-range chickens, but we call them “native chickens”), and sometimes I do see them on the rooftops though I never caught them in flight.

I am just sharing because of what the food industry does to chickens, it is sad to think that they can fly, but they don’t know how to, because they are always locked up.

One day I might build a proper aviary, a huuuge one, and attempt to breed endangered birds.

Who knows…

[whitelotus]

thanks everyone.......
I am certainly not gonna keep him in cage...................I once had a parrot who came to our home as he was .... chased by eagles...we saved him...and he lived with us...cage was his little home...but its door was open...so he used to roam around home...... and watcj TV(His favourite passtime) and loved us a lot....


but as he left..............i miss him a lot and feel like adopting birds....
i will definitely ... not put them in cages..... forcefully ...it will be just their own place and ...they can roam around and do wherever they want............

[Lightspirit]

I said this in another thread gis week. I told my kids they could have a caged bird after they stayed in their rooms for a whole month continuously.


I think that is fair If you want to deprive something its freedom you should do it to yourself first.

[psychoslice]

Caged birds live longer and happier in most cases.

[Sybilline]

Longer I would agree. Happier... I wouldn't know.

[psychoslice]

Longer I would agree. Happier... I wouldn't know.
You haven't met my little bird, the thing is with us, is that we think how it would be like in a cage, when a bird wouldn't have such thoughts, its just happy to be feed and watered and of course loved, that's a lot more than most humans get in life.

[knightofalbion]

Caged birds live longer and happier in most cases.

Happier?

If one were to leave the cage door open, allowing the bird to make it's own choice, would it stay in the cage or fly free????

[knightofalbion]

I don't agree with caged birds. Birds should be soaring free through boundless skies, not imprisoned in a cage.

As for pet animals. That the animal should be treated with love and kindness is a given. As for the coming together of two species, that can only be a good thing in my opinion. Through contact with human love and affection, the animal attains individuality and thus survival, which furthers the advancement of its soul and its group soul.
And it is beneficial for the human soul too. Anatole France famously said, "Until one has loved an animal a part of one's soul remains unawakened."
I always like to spin it around, until one has been loved by an animal a part of one's soul remains unawakened....
Love, be the source human or animal, transforms like nothing else.

[psychoslice]

Happier?

If one were to leave the cage door open, allowing the bird to make it's own choice, would it stay in the cage or fly free????
If you left the gate open to a pool area, would a child go through and maybe even drown ?.

[Sybilline]

Hmmm :)) This is getting good... What about other things kept in enclosed areas? I'm ruling cats and dogs out because they can run away if they wanted to (unless you cage them like they do in my country). What about fishes, salamanders, newts, turtles? ♥

[whitelotus]

Iw ould agree with psychoslice ....
My own parrot...had his cage...and the door was open.......

he wold love to roam around in and outside our home....but would come back to cage...when he wanted to use his swing inside cage.......or when he wanted to sleep at night.....

he lived with us as he was one of us....

[Chrysaetos]

If you left the gate open to a pool area, would a child go through and maybe even drown ?.haha nice one.

[Lightspirit]

If you love something, Set it free... If it comes back, it's yours, If it doesn't, it never was yours....

[peteyzen]

Im with Psycho on this. Its all about the bird and our love for it and how we treat it. Animals grow spiritually by having a connection to humans who treat them with love. We are after all their next destination on the journey of life

[knightofalbion]

If you left the gate open to a pool area, would a child go through and maybe even drown ?.

Not quite the same thing is it.

[knightofalbion]

If you love something, Set it free... If it comes back, it's yours, If it doesn't, it never was yours....

Beautifully put.

[knightofalbion]

Im with Psycho on this. Its all about the bird and our love for it and how we treat it. Animals grow spiritually by having a connection to humans who treat them with love. We are after all their next destination on the journey of life

Birds were created to soar through boundless skies. That's why they've got wings!

On your second point, yes, couldn't have put it better myself! Emphasis on the love connection i.e. a bond of friendship, as opposed to an imprisonment.
The pivotal issue in any human-animal relationship.

[amy green]

If you love something, Set it free... If it comes back, it's yours, If it doesn't, it never was yours....

I agree with this as it applies to people but to caged birds? As I mentioned in my earlier post, the problem with releasing a bird bred for captivity is that it may well be attacked by wild birds.

It's not just a simple issue of releasing the bird (if you care about its health/future). It would need careful research to establish whether it would stand a chance of surviving e.g is the bird's food source readily available? Much as I put a high value on freedom, since caged birds have probably only known capitivity (maybe through generations), I feel that releasing it into the wild may well prove stressful and thus impact on the bird's health. It pains me to have to say that the external natural environment may no longer be natural for an inbred bird.

[knightofalbion]

Amy: In this instance, the saying has a metaphorical application.

[amy green]

Amy: In this instance, the saying has a metaphorical application.

I think lightworker included it here - a thread about caged birds - to be taken literally. i.e. "set it free". Indeed he says as much in his post below this one.

[Lightspirit]

I agree with this as it applies to people but to caged birds? As I mentioned in my earlier post, the problem with releasing a bird bred for captivity is that it may well be attacked by wild birds.

It's not just a simple issue of releasing the bird (if you care about its health/future). It would need careful research to establish whether it would stand a chance of surviving e.g is the bird's food source readily available? Much as I put a high value on freedom, since caged birds have probably only known capitivity (maybe through generations), I feel that releasing it into the wild may well prove stressful and thus impact on the bird's health. It pains me to have to say that the external natural environment may no longer be natural for an inbred bird.
You cant let let some domesticated pets go, or it might die soon after. I use that thing I posted as my yardstick for the acquisition of new pets.

As much as I keep the cats inside to protect wildlife if I let them go they return freewill.

To me if you could have a bird that chose to return to you and the cage there would not be a problem- That is just my standard for caging, the creature must chose to go inside at some point.

Maybe I am idealistic but could only imagine a day of freedom might be better than a lifetime of captivity for a wild creature.

[Dragonfly1]

If you left the gate open to a pool area, would a child go through and maybe even drown ?.


Its the pool that's caged in, not the child.....big difference......you can't compare a caged bird to a child....if you caged a child....you'd go to jail........I think if you are going to have birds....allow the cage door to be left open and give it the opportunity to use its God given wings......to be a creature of flight with no arms but the wings on your body and have that right taken from you for the pleasure of your beauty is wrong......allow it to fly around, and if you give it love and it acknowledges that love and comes back to the open cage.....well thats a good thing (perhaps?)....I personally couldn't cage a bird again......I did once.....two love birds.....and I neglected to cover their cage one night and both those beautiful little creatures perished......Im a bird murderer.....I sure hope they can forgive me........

[psychoslice]

Its the pool that's caged in, not the child.....big difference......you can't compare a caged bird to a child....if you caged a child....you'd go to jail........I think if you are going to have birds....allow the cage door to be left open and give it the opportunity to use its God given wings......to be a creature of flight with no arms but the wings on your body and have that right taken from you for the pleasure of your beauty is wrong......allow it to fly around, and if you give it love and it acknowledges that love and comes back to the open cage.....well thats a good thing (perhaps?)....I personally couldn't cage a bird again......I did once.....two love birds.....and I neglected to cover their cage one night and both those beautiful little creatures perished......Im a bird murderer.....I sure hope they can forgive me........
No I don't agree, a lot of birds if got away wouldn't be able to survive, a lot of humans if were free from the collective society cage which we call civilization wouldn't survive either, but its not just a black and white argument, it depends on what the pet is, and where the pet originally came from, if you know what I mean.

[Nebulous]

No I don't agree, a lot of birds if got away wouldn't be able to survive, a lot of humans if were free from the collective society cage which we call civilization wouldn't survive either, but its not just a black and white argument, it depends on what the pet is, and where the pet originally came from, if you know what I mean.

This is sorta how I see it too. We're basically introducing animals to our sort of lifestyle when we keep them as pets...a lifestyle where food is right there readily available, life is pretty easy, there's entertainment and less activity and no more trying to survive a hostile wilderness...

When I adopt a dog or cat, I think of it as a rescue. I have seen SO MANY people who are terribly abusive to pets, I feel that when I adopt one, I can maybe give that animal a chance to live a life that is free from danger, disease and early, painful death. I am introducing them to my "pack" and they go with my "pack" everywhere and are provided for... I know full well that, because they were never wild to begin with, they can never return to the wild because they will die, they have not learned how to survive... just as many in our society have not lived a life of harsh survival either.

If you have an animal that has lived wild and free, it's an entirely different story. I would never cage that animal up, but I would happily befriend that animal and give it food or whatever as I can spare it, and wish it well as it flies/crawls/walks away. Example: We had a pair of crows that kept sitting on our deck a couple of months ago. For no apparent reason they just kept "hanging out". We thought it a blessing, a welcome pair of new friends - and we set out bits of food for them. They'd fly to the deck, take their fill and leave, sometimes peer at us through the window - they were pretty friendly.

You're not bad if you have a pet. You probably shouldn't have a pet if you have zero empathy for animals or can't understand their body language, however - you need to be able to communicate with them at least a little bit, to understand what their body language and noises mean, to understand how best to care for them and make them happy and content. If you have a cat, you better know what it means when their tail raises or when their ears go back. If you have a dog, you'd better know what it means when they stare at you and urinate on something, or when they tuck their tail or show you their belly or raise their hackles...

I don't think owning a pet is bad. It's just taking responsibility for the safety and well-being of another creature, and needs to be done responsibly. :smile:

[psychoslice]

Yes I agree Nebulous, I think its just as bad to have children that are abused and kept like a pet just for ones own satisfaction of having children.

[Dragonfly1]

Of course slice.....but if you have caged birds....allow them to fly around your house.......and if you have a verandah enclose it in bird wire so that they can fly around out there also but not away to be snatched by wild predatory birds or animals......i understand that caged birds would perish fairly quickly because of wild free birds......but don't stop them from using their wings by placing them in a tiny cage.....that is inhumane.....Its like my cats......we allow them access to the backyard.....there are trees for them to climb, and we try to prevent them from attacking birds.....its their natural instinct to do that......but they have food laid on for them so they don't need to hunt for survival.....but they still want to.....so they do a lot of chasing and chittering at the birds instead......i wouldnt want them to go outside of the yard, because they don't know the road is a dangerous place, and there are many people who get great pleasure in running over or being cruel to cats....for whatever sick reason that they have.......so perhaps my posts have been a bit misleading in what I actually mean........
All im saying is......if you have pet birds allow them to be able to fly and use their wings......have sufficient safe space for them to do that.....

[psychoslice]

Of course slice.....but if you have caged birds....allow them to fly around your house.......and if you have a verandah enclose it in bird wire so that they can fly around out there also but not away to be snatched by wild predatory birds or animals......i understand that caged birds would perish fairly quickly because of wild free birds......but don't stop them from using their wings by placing them in a tiny cage.....that is inhumane.....Its like my cats......we allow them access to the backyard.....there are trees for them to climb, and we try to prevent them from attacking birds.....its their natural instinct to do that......but they have food laid on for them so they don't need to hunt for survival.....but they still want to.....so they do a lot of chasing and chittering at the birds instead......i wouldnt want them to go outside of the yard, because they don't know the road is a dangerous place, and there are many people who get great pleasure in running over or being cruel to cats....for whatever sick reason that they have.......so perhaps my posts have been a bit misleading in what I actually mean........
All im saying is......if you have pet birds allow them to be able to fly and use their wings......have sufficient safe space for them to do that.....
Ok, now i'm with you, and yes in that case I also agree, let them fly like your little angel, yea yea.:angel10: :angel8: :tweety:

[whitelotus]

HMMMMM....

Thanks everyone...i got my answer...........:)

My take:
More than us it depends on the birds...if they want to live with you...they can...
they won't leave you....(as my parrot did )........... else they will live there life their way......

In addition it is our responsibility to take care of them...if they can't survive in natural habitat..........

Thanks & Regards,
Whitelotus

[Chrysaetos]

If you love something, Set it free... If it comes back, it's yours, If it doesn't, it never was yours....Rubbish.

Your cat or dog may really like you but once it has the space to run it may get lost, or be absorbed by all sorts of stimuli out there. It may not come back.

[Lightspirit]

Rubbish.

Your cat or dog may really like you but once it has the space to run it may get lost, or be absorbed by all sorts of stimuli out there. It may not come back. lol ever tried to get rid of a cat? It will keep coming back if you do, it owns you.

[Chrysaetos]

A dog owner may treat his dog very badly, yet the dog may come back after running away. That too, is a possibility.

[amy green]

lol ever tried to get rid of a cat? It will keep coming back if you do, it owns you.

A cat may not always keep coming back. I know of several people who treated their cat well and who have lost their cat, i.e. it has not returned. Cats are notorious for cupboard love - will take food from almost anyone. They are far more independent than dogs, i.e. not as loyal.