Birds are born to Fly.
But Victorians have stopped them flying!!!

In May 2014, I was in shocked to see cruelty toward birds, at the annual bird sale run by the Mornington Peninsula Aviculture Society (MPAS) and the Victorian Aviculture Council (VAC):
• Most of the birds were physically and emotionally distressed and ill.
• All birds were housed in small boxes/ cages which fit the bird exactly- many of the larger birds could not walk comfortably or stretch their wings even- flying was not an option for any bird.
• There were bright lights and people hovering over the birds constantly- no privacy or quiet time for the birds.
• The boxes/cages were filthy and some rusty. In most cases, bird food was placed under the bird's perch and on the ground, where the bird's faeces would be also.
So we want to stop this sale happening again in few weeks!!

The annual MPAS Bird Sale event will again include highly stressed and terrified birds that are confined to small, dirty cages and ‘showed off’ to the public like dying flowers in small dirty pots.
MPAS and VAC and and their members /breeders and non members/breeders, continue to sell birds in abusive conditions.

The abuse and cruelty toward companion birds in Victoria, parallels the abuse we have recently seen in the Puppy Farm industry and the Greyhound industry.

In Victoria, there are thousands of abused and neglected companion birds being constantly sold, right now, online (e.g.Locanto, Buy a Bird, Gumtree, PetsHQ, Trader tag) at pet shops, markets, at bird sale events, and directly from bird groups and associations.

Bird breeders and sellers proudly advertise their abusive bird photos in bird magazines sold throughout Australia and all over the internet.
In fact, in the bird magazines, even bird club members/breeders and Vets mention the abuse and lack of welfare of birds that exists in Australia.

Any professional Bird Behaviourist with theoretical and constant practical experience living and interacting with birds, will confirm to you that treating birds/parrots in such a manner is unethical, unacceptable, and breaches basic bird welfare.

Bird breeders and sellers are not interested in bird behaviour as it conflicts with their bird handling standards and conflicts with their sole motive: financial income, at any welfare cost to companion birds.

As a professional Bird Behaviourist, I am constantly contacted by the general public of Australia, of bird welfare abuse cases. It is a serious problem in Victoria where current codes of practice are not complied with and monitored by Department of Environment, Land, Water & Planning (DELWP) (ex DEPI) and where companion bird welfare regulations fail to exist.
The current (and not easy to find) DELWP (ex DEPI) Companion Birds Victorian Codes include:
• Owning a bird
• Bird Intelligence
• Your Birds Welfare Needs
• Code of Practice for the Housing of Caged Birds
• Pet-Care Practices Research Results
• Interesting information about Birds

Bird breeders and bird sellers fail to abide by the Victorian Code of Practice for keeping of captive birds.

Also, if you recently viewed the television episode of Gold Coast Cops where parrots were kept indoors in drug-infested premises, this is a very common occurrence in Victoria also- where bird owners smoke and inhale addictive drugs in the presence of parrots- as a result, the parrots suffer the health effects of inhaling the same drugs. I have viewed this personally myself in drug addicts’ homes.

At present DEPI has handed over the bird welfare codes, to be drafted by the VAC-  the same people involved with MPAS and who allow bird abuse!
This is a dangerous conflict of interest!!

It is tragic that a Victorian government allows such abuse and code of practice breaches to occur constantly, to intelligent companion birds.
One day soon, Victorian will be wondering “how did we as humans allow such abuse to occur to companion birds and not put an immediate stop to it?”

Hon Jaala Pulford, I urge you to ban the MPAS Bird Sale Event of May 2015 and all other Victorian sales events.There should be a thorough government investigation and revision of bird welfare codes and laws in Victoria. Birds are highly intelligent- they should not be sold and traded as a commodity.

Please take urgent action and sign this petition, to save companion birds from being abused and ban the above bird sale and all Victorian bird sale events!!

Thanking all our supporters of companion birds!!

Paris Yves- Campaign Manager

Let Companion Birds Fly

Melbourne, Australia

Ph: 0413 530 419

email:  paris@letcompanionbirdsfly.com.au