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Foster Parrots, Ltd.
Mission Statement

The goals of Foster Parrots, Ltd. are the following:

1. To rescue languishing, abused or unwanted parrots from abusive or neglectful situations.
2. To act as a placement service for friendly, tame birds whose guardians have had to
    give up their bird(s) in urgent or emergency situations.
3. To serve as an educational resource and advice service for:
    a. Prospective bird guardians.
    b. Current bird guardians.
    c. Schools, as an educational resource on the care and responsibilities of sharing your life with
        any animal as a pet.
4. To serve as a permanent sanctuary for birds not suitable for adoption. Our long term goals
    include building a permanent home for these birds.
5. To protect all parrots, in captivity and in the wild.

Further,

• Foster Parrots, Ltd. is a 501 (c)(3) corporation dedicated to improving the lives of parrots as pets and in their natural habitats.
• We do not breed or place birds with people who breed.
• We do not sell, trade or use birds in our care for commerce or profit.
• We promote responsible guardianship of all captive birds.
• We promote education on all issues of avian welfare.
• We oppose the sale of unweaned baby birds and production breeding methods.
• We oppose the mass-marketing and selling of birds through pet store chains, bird marts and internet venues.
• We maintain that all captive breeding contributes to the displacement and suffering of captive birds and, with very few exceptions, does not contribute to the viable preservation of the species.
• We do not condone, endorse or promote the breeding of birds for life in captivity.
• We strongly oppose legal/illegal exportation/importation of parrots and encourage all countries to adopt legislation, enforcement and conservation policies to prevent wild birds from entering captivity.

Founding Principles

From the beginning in 1989 when we began the rescue efforts that resulted in the incorporation of Foster Parrots, Ltd. in 1999, we knew something was wrong. Just how wrong we could never have imagined. The fact that people were desperate to find a home for a bird that they paid $1,000.00 or more for just a year or two ago, never mind the $400.00 - $800.00 paid for the cage, suggested two things. One, that these people had no idea what they were getting into and; two, that they were dearly concerned about finding a good home. They were not willing to put their feathered friend up for sale in the classified ads or just give it away to a friend or relative who would only be in the same position of having to find a new home sooner or later.

It was then, and still is now, our intention and driving motivation to find good, well-qualified, well-intentioned, sympathetic and humanitarian homes for the birds that people have entrusted to us during the crisis in their life that precipitated the need to get rid of their bird. Towards this goal, we established our requirements for adoption. Believing that money is not an indicator of anyone's sincerity and that an adoption fee would only reimburse us for the cost of medical tests performed on the adoptive parrot, we decided to go with a donation of time requirement rather than a monetary adoption fee, believing that a sincere and compassionate adoption candidate would welcome the opportunity to interact with as many different birds as possible in the effort to find a compatible companion parrot. We also feel that it is important for parrots to have the opportunity to see a potential adopter in a non-threatening interaction such as cleaning a cage or changing food and water dishes. It is during this passive interaction with volunteers that our birds pick those who they like. Volunteers are encouraged to spend as much time as possible interacting with and offering treats to the bird they wish to adopt. The time spent (minimum of 3 months, 1 day a week for 3-4 hours at a time) here at our facility also gives us a good understanding of the prospective adopter's knowledge level and gives us a chance to evaluate the potential for a long-term home for the adoptive birds. Many times someone who comes in asking to adopt a Cockatoo or Macaw falls in love with a much smaller bird. Many special-needs birds have managed to work their way into the hearts of those who would have passed right by them in favor of a more beautiful bird.
 

One of the predictions we made several years ago is sadly becoming a reality. There are too many parrots being bred and too many impulsive people buying them without the depth of knowledge needed to offer long-term, quality care. Many birds are now being brought to us having only spent 1 - 5 years in their original home. Many come to us having been through 3 or 4 homes in the past year alone, some under 1-year old. Although we can only document the unwanted parrot issue from a single perspective, it has been something we have been all too aware of since our inception in 1989.

The problem has grown steadily and it is now becoming evident that the human parrot guardian population is growing older and less tolerant of the demands that a pet bird has on their freedom. The birds purchased 15 or 20 years ago still have a long life ahead of them, and we are now starting to see many birds who have been in their homes for upwards of 20 plus years. We are also seeing many birds given up by people now in their 50's, 60's and 70's who are, as one would expect, facing major illnesses, down-sizing from a large home to something smaller, involved in divorce situations, may have new parrot-intolerant spouses, or having to deal with family members with serious allergies, asthma or medical issues that forbid, under doctor's orders, keeping a parrot in the home.

We have tried to keep pace with the ever-growing demand of parrots needing sanctuary or a new home in the greater Boston area and have even helped others start rescues here in Massachusetts, as well as in neighboring states. The demand for placement has far outpaced our ability to accommodate it and, sadly, birds are now being turned into the local animal control agencies such as the MSPCA and the Animal Rescue League of Boston. Most of these organizations are primarily concerned with dog and cat overpopulation, and they are unable to make the labor-intensive efforts needed to handle the highly specialized demands of parrots and to place them in qualified homes. As there is a market value on each animal far greater than that of an older dog or cat, and as birds cannot be spayed or neutered and can be used for breeding (unlike dogs and cats given up for adoption), there is an added danger that someone adopting a bird may only be interested in turning a quick profit or confining the adopted bird in a breeding program. To protect against these eventualities takes a major investment of labor. To the MSPCA's credit they are at least being honest about the euthanasia and potential overpopulation issue. Carter Luke, VP Animal Issues, MSPCA, has publicly expressed his concern over the growing problem here in the northeast. I would personally and publicly like to thank him for his openness and honesty, and I would like the MSPCA to know that I offer this not to embarrass them or to be critical of their euthanasia policy, but rather to serve as a wake-up call to those who do not believe that parrots are in danger of being euthanized for lack of qualified homes.

It will only be through the exposure of what is happening that we as a society will begin to take the steps to address the overpopulation issue as well as begin the debate over whether or not birds even deserve to be kept as pets any more than primates or dolphins. Indeed, the keeping of intelligence on the level of primates and dolphins, confined for our own gratification, is widely recognized as cruel by most civilized, modern cultures, and we at Foster Parrots can only hope that the same will soon be recognized in the case of parrots. Certainly we can all recognize the injustice of turning a creature born to fly into a terrestrial feathered hamster for our own entertainment. Our goal is not to make anyone feel guilty about keeping their bird, but rather to let people know that if they are sensitive and caring, that the day might come when just having a bird in their home might be more than they can bear. We receive many, many phone calls and emails from people who feel guilty about not being able to give their birds enough; enough time, companionship, freedom or space. To those who do feel this guilt, we ask that they use it to provide more for their beloved bird; more space, more flight, more companionship. If you cannot give your bird the companionship he or she deserves, adopt a friend for them, build them an outdoor aviary, dedicate a room of the home for them to call their own. No cage or home is big enough to duplicate what these magnificent creatures were born to inherit, but we must do all that we can to accommodate the true natures of these animals and to live up to the responsibility of what we have taken on. Parrots are not toasters; you cannot throw them away when you don't want them anymore.

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