An American animal shelter received over 800 parakeets during the holiday weekend. The owner of the birds kept them all in one room.
“These birds came from a very unhealthy situation, and the irresponsibility of the owner is infuriating,” the Detroit Animal Welfare Group, based in Michigan, said on Facebook. It added that the birds were “smothering each other and needed immediate help.”
The son of the birds’ owner brought them to the shelter. He first brought 497 birds crammed into seven cages, and then on Sunday an additional 339.
With the help of other organizations, the group found temporary housing for all the parakeets. The Detroit Animal Welfare Group director, Kelley LaBonty, told the Detroit Free Press the birds “were very, very stressed. They were barely moving.”
In his explanation to LaBonty, the son said that his father intended to breed only a few birds, but he couldn’t control the number of birds, and he was spending $1,200 a month to feed them all.
The parakeets will eventually be available for adoption. The Detroit Animal Welfare Group cautioned that “owning a parakeet is a 6-15 year commitment.”
“They require not only food, water and daily cage cleaning but also daily interaction, enrichment and flight time,” it said.
In Michigan, owners can be prosecuted if they do not provide adequate care to their pets. LaBonty said she would not alert authorities because she’s happy the family took a “step in the right direction” by reaching out for help.
The Animal Reader is a small independent news platform with daily posts about issues affecting animals.
The Animal Reader is a small independent news platform with daily posts about issues affecting animals.
