Dear Parrots magazine,
Rescue Centres
For a long time I have been very worried about the number of parrots that seem to be getting dumped into rescue centres. Their longevity obviously causes more of a problem than with other pets, like cats, dogs and small furries, that don’t live anything like as long.
I have heard horror stories about people giving over their parrots to so called rescue centres and then regretting it terribly when realising what they have lost. I know of at least one person who gave away their Sun Conure because it was very noisy and attracting complaints from neighbours living nearby. This lady suddenly realised the terrible mistake she had made and wanted the bird back, but it was too late as it had been re-homed.
This poor lady went through months of guilt and frustration as she couldn’t get her bird back and couldn’t even find out where it had gone. Continual contact with the rescue centre proved nothing and the response she received left a great deal to be desired.
Some years ago I read about the issue of licensing rescue centres, but I don’t think anything ever developed from that, which is surprising as, if I remember correctly, this initiative was proposed by a member of parliament. I would be very interested if anybody knows if there was anything done about a licensing scheme.
Geraldine Taylor, by email