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Foster Parrots, Ltd.
Jane Goodall Visits Foster Parrots
May 17, 2004
For Immediate Release
Dr. Jane Goodall and members of the Jane Goodall Institute visit Foster Parrots Sanctuary and Rescue in Rockland, MA
Dr. Jane Goodall and fellow JGI members took a short detour from their scheduled "Roots and Shoots" conference on Cape Cod to visit Foster Parrots, Ltd., a parrot sanctuary and rescue located in Rockland, Massachusetts. The plight of captive parrots and the continued breeding of these sensitive and intelligent creatures is becoming one of the many concerns of Dr. Goodall and her institute. Dr. Goodall used her visit to tour the facility and spend time with a few of the 250 parrot residents. Her concern over the uncertain future of the many millions of pet parrots now in homes across the country and their improper care in the hands of the impulsive buyers who may not have thought through the long term, for as many as 80 or 90 years, worries her as the potential for suffering is made all the more distressing when one considers the intelligence and loneliness experienced by a flock animal kept in solitude. Dr. Goodall has stated in previous articles that, "I do think we're only starting to understand how smart they (parrots) are."
"After touring room after room filled with rescued parrots, I felt an overwhelming admiration for Marc and his staff, his volunteers, and deeply saddened. Wild parrots are intensely social, unbelievably intelligent and fly through the forests like swift, brightly colored arrows. Yet thousands are now being bred for pets. They are wild animals and do not deserve a life in captivity. Most parrot guardians are not able to cope with the wild behaviors, such as biting and screaming. Very few will find a human prepared to devote even a few hours a day for 60 years or so. Hundreds will end up in tiny cages, pathetic, miserable, crazy. Thousands, if not millions, will be euthanized. There is desperate need for sanctuaries, and for a concerted effort to protect parrots in the wild where they belong," writes Dr. Goodall.
Foster Parrots has been working for nearly 15 years to not only address the issues of parrot rescue, sanctuary and adoption, but has also been actively involved in alerting the public to the terrible injustices it sees in the pet trade and improper care of animals that deserve more than a life in captivity. We are also becoming involved in the effort to preserve the wild places parrots call home.
"They deserve their day in the sun and it breaks my heart to see so many of them in captivity, knowing they will never know the feeling of freedom, the warmth of the sun on their backs or the wind under their wings," says Marc Johnson, Director of Foster Parrots.
Mary Lewis, Vice President of the Jane Goodall Institute and personal assistant to Dr. Goodall, added, "We are in awe of what you and your team are doing in this dreadful situation."
For more information about the work of the Jane Goodall Institute, visit: www.janegoodall.org
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