This is about keeping birds in captivity. Personally, I think that one of the saddest things you can ever see is a bird, a symbol of freedom, locked up in a crammed little cage. Personally, I own a zebra pair. I've had a budgie before, but he died from what we believe was a heart attack or a stroke. He simply collapsed from his swing and died in my hand. I was very young back then and I remember I cried the whole evening before I went to sleep, and when I woke up the following morning, I prayed to God as I walked out of my room that, when I enter the living room, I’d still see her (it was a she) happily tearing holes in my curtains or drilling with her beak in the walls... But she wasn't there. She was gone for good, and my dad was already constructing a small coffin for the poor thing. When I saw the small wooden box, I began to cry again.... She wasn't that tame, she liked being left alone more than anything else, but still we loved her, as in her brief lifetime of only about one year, she became a member of the family. Carusso (the shopkeeper said it was a he initially) still lays in her grave just outside in the garden, God rest her poor little soul.

Anyway, back to the topic. I personally have conscience problems right now. I mean, one part of me says that keeping a bird in captivity is wrong, but another part says that, given the fact that these two beauties of zebras I have now may have fallen (and probably would have fallen) into the hands of someone that had almost no knowledge about a bird's needs, I offered a better chance to life to these poor little souls, born to this world to be imprisoned for ever and ever. Imagine, someone that would have kept them in a cage too small for them to even stretch their little wings, as these accessories cost a lot in my country, and would have bought them the cheapest food on the shelf... As much as I hate the idea of seeing a bird locked up... I said to myself that I must, at least, offer two of them a better life. I mean most of the possible owners would have never even spent a tenth of the money I spend on them. I read about caring for them before I bought them (which many people wouldn't have done...), and I still do. All of my savings go into their well being. I buy them the most expensive food I can find, clean their cage every day, change their water daily or twice daily, I bought them the biggest nest I could find, a "swimming pool", tore up a pillow to give them nesting material (boy, was my mom angry...), boil them eggs, etc., things that other people wouldn't have had the time, patience, sense of responsibility or common sense to do. I even let them fly around the house. Hell, I gave a lot of my birthday money just so they would be happy, and I’m only a middle class citizen, and my income in other European countries might seem the one of a low class citizen.

I simply love these birds, and I simply cannot accept the idea that they are just pets, souls you can buy and then neglect when you don't feel like tending to their simple, but important to them, needs. They have the right to live the best life one can offer. And I’ve always loved birds. I've nursed three doves, kept them safe until they learned to fly and fend for themselves, the same with a little sparrow (that I believe was the most intelligent bird ever hatched).

If anyone of you has an opinion that she or he would like to share, I would like to know how you feel about keeping birds. I sincerely believe that only a handful of people would have given them a better life than me in my country. And I believe that anyone reading this is a bird lover and feels like I do, that a bird, if you bought it, should be cared for. Birds, no matter how small, have souls, feelings and needs, they aren't just piles of feathers with price tags tied to their beaks, here only to amuse us and receive nothing in return.

I sincerely apologize for any misspelling or grammar error. English is not my country's language.

If anyone feels offended by what I wrote here, please do not consider it, and that I am sorry for that. It's just a simple opinion, not meant to bother anyone.

Article © Kapall M. 2004