Complete Psittacine, by EB Cravens

Should aviculturists stop breeding birds for the pet trade

Many bird breeders I have known and several close friends have over the past few years all made the decision to no longer permit their parrots to produce offspring. I can fully understand such decisions. One need only look at the psittacines which are 'languishing' under the care of rescue and rehabilitation facilities to realize that there are far too many unwanted, former pet and breeder birds in this country and abroad. Many are mentally 'messed up' because of the way they were cared for and the procedures used to birth and raise them.

Furthermore, as I keep in regular touch with Feathered Friends of Santa Fe, NM, the exotic bird store I managed for seven years, as well as Parrots Naturally in Los Angeles, Denise’s Parrot Place in Seattle, and other retail shoppes around the country, it is obvious from talking with the owners that parrot sales, especially of large cockatoos and macaws, are in a long-term ebb trend. The bird 'craze' of the 1980’s and 90’s peaked and has been fading for more than two decades.