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My thoughts precisely - we can't change what has gone before - just make the very best of what we have and I would argue that this country does a pretty good job of that, both in collaborative breeding progarmmes and releases back to the wild. It also works to educate the "public at large" on the problems that they will otherwise probably not have been aware of.
i live in Bournemouth and when you walk through the Bournemouth gardens on your left there is a small cage full of tropical birds. there is about 30 birds in an area not big enough to fit 5 humans. these birds have been caught from the wild and are being fed artificial food and it disgusts me every time i walk past it. its little things like these that need changing as most zoos and wildlife parks are good and have nice standards.
Do you know who owns the birds? Are you sure they have been caught from the wild? If you are sure of your facts and you are worried about their welfare then perhaps a polite letter to the owners would reassure you. If there is no reassurance then perhaps a letter to your local council will produce results.
the birds that are kept there are definatley not British and are rare species now personally i wouldnt mind them keeping them if it had a better space and food because they are rare and making sure that rare species dont die out is important but not as important as making sure they have a good habitat which is as close to that of the wild and the food is as close to that they eat in the wild too.
As I've said, if you are worried about them a polite letter to the owners might go a long way. If you feel they are neglected, starving or injured you could contact your local RSPCA who would check things out. But if you have a look and you can see they are fed and kept clean then there's not a lot you can do.
If they are rare then you can be sure they are captive bred (I am sure they wouldn't leave rare birds where they can be easily stolen). Do you know what kind of birds they are?
Perhaps instead of just feeling "disgusted" every time you walk past, maybe take the time to write to whoever runs the aviary and ask questions about space and feeding etc, they may even look for volunteers to help, in which case you could do something to help, either by cleaning or feeding etc. But don't put things like disgusted into the letter, just polite questions.
I have to say when I've been down there it's never struck me as a bad aviary and the species, mostly finches. parakeets & some oriental pheasants etc are probably bred in this country.
Quote: What do you think of safari parks Chris?
The non-native ones like we have in the UK are alien, captive environments and don't work for me at all. The native ones are an entirely different matter and are more to do with protection from poaching. They have more in common with what we would call a Nature Reserve and must be a good thing surely ?
Quote: The native ones are an entirely different matter and are more to do with protection from poaching.
Good point. Haven't been to a UK one for years, so I don't really know what they're like now. I know that London Zoo and many other high quality zoos are working very hard to ensure that the animals have an enriched environment, able to exhibit their natural behaviours, and their welfare isn't compromised. I'm sure this is imperfect, but it is a start, and whether the educational aspect can be justified now that we can view creatures in a variety of media in their natural habitats (not that filming animals in the wild doesn't present another set of welfare issues!)... What I am very much against is trying to keep wild animals as pets when they cannot be provided for adequately. Most parrot species are very social and gregarious, and need a lot of toys and activities to keep them mentally stimulated. These aren't hard to provide, but I think many people don't realise how much time and money goes into looking after animals.
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