Are birds happy in captivity

[Just-passn-thru]

This is an interesting uplifting article.

Could a Pet Parrot Be Happy in Captivity? – Pet Birds by Lafeber Co.

 

[Zara]

Interesting.
I don´t know how much I agree with that, as much as I´d love to. I don´t believe we can ever know if a bird is happier in captivity as they would be in the wild. They don´t know the difference. Just because they live longer, doesn´t make them happy - and again, they don´t know that their wild cousins are dying younger.

I do believe that with more enrichment in their captive lives they are happier. For example, our AA birds are much happier and live more enriched lives than those poor souls locked away in basements, in corners, never allowed to fly etc.
Just my thoughts. But in the end I´d like to believe this article and think my birds are the happiest they could be

 

[Lady Jane]

I am one that believes we should not keep any birds as captives in our homes. But they are so we do the best we can for them. It it enough? That's a question only a bird could answer.

 

[GoDucks]

There are just too many birds in shelters around the world for me to be comfortable with the assessment being made in that article. Cockatoos, a species that the author mentions, is a prime example of a bird that is just too often, unhappy. They kind of life that those birds crave can not be made possible by most people, so they settle for second best, third best,...or even worse.

 

[Just-passn-thru]

I don't think they have the ability to discern
Animals live in the moment and react on environment instinctively
But i do believe that from a human perspective we have tendency to believe that animals have the same emotions and reasoning as us
I think this article is actually giving humans a pass on the guilt we have for keeping birds.

 

[SunUp]

I think there are some species that have been bred in captivity for so long they that they really do fine as pets. I'm thinking here mainly of cockatiels, budgies. But to be completely honest, if I had it to do over again, I would not have pet birds. And it's not because I don't love them...it's because I do love them. That being said, best I can tell my little group is happy. They all play, eat well, vocalize appropriately, no plucking at all. What I have been seriously contemplating is finding a companion for each of my birds. But I fully realize that is MUCH easier said than done. But I feel that would add such a huge dimension to their lives.

 

[Zara]

I think this article is actually giving humans a pass on the guilt we have for keeping birds.

The author pretty much made that clear:
¨I still struggle so much with guilt (don’t all mothers?), but I do actually think a life in captivity can be a very worthwhile life indeed.¨
It comes across as their reasoning and trying to lesson the guilt. The problem is not all bird parents are as good as each other, and by reading rescue stories, that is painfully clear.

 

[Just-passn-thru]

The author pretty much made that clear:
¨I still struggle so much with guilt (don’t all mothers?), but I do actually think a life in captivity can be a very worthwhile life indeed.¨
It comes across as their reasoning and trying to lesson the guilt. The problem is not all bird parents are as good as each other, and by reading rescue stories, that is painfully clear.

So true. Same with all living things. People can be cruel.