"You shouldn't keep birds as pets, that's cruel." "You should release them outside where they can be free." "Birds deserve to be free outside, not trapped inside."
I can't tell you how many comments I've had of this type, so I wanted to address that line of thinking.
First, I want to say that I 100% believe that birds never should have been introduced to the pet trade. They have such complex needs and truly aren't a great fit for most homes. Don't get me wrong--I love them so much and am incredibly grateful I get to share my life with so many wonderful birds, but the vast majority of pet birds do not have a good life. Most are impulse buys and receive minimal care, are forgotten in tiny cages, are neglected/abused, and are rehomed multiple times throughout their lifetime. They don't deserve that life, so we don't deserve them.
In that way, I do understand these comments and where they're coming from. Our pet birds deserve so much better than the treatment so many of them receive. However, It's not as simple as just saying "birds shouldn't be pets!" and leaving the conversation there. Maybe birds shouldn't be pets, but what can we do to make things better for them? (Spoiler alert: the answer is not releasing them outside.)
So why can't we just let them go outside, that's where birds belong, right? There are a couple of problems with this.
First, birds that were hatched in the pet trade don't have the skills necessary for survival. It's like releasing a spoiled toddler outside and expecting them to survive. Birds in the pet trade don't know how to forage for food (after all, it's always magically appeared in a dish before), they don't know how to evade or recognize predators (the owner's dog never hurt me, why should I run from a coyote?), survive the elements (how do they find cover from the freezing rain?), and their immune systems are not ready for the shock of being exposed to the pathogens and illnesses found in wild animals.
Most pet birds that get out or released don't survive past a few days.
Beyond that, pet birds typically aren't native to where you live. In most places, it's illegal to release a non-native animal. Even ignoring that, these birds in the pet trade are from a different climate. How would my Australian budgies or tropical parrots survive the cold winters in Ohio? Adding on top of that that most regions don't offer the same specific diet that these birds require. They are not the same as the wild birds you see outside your window and will starve and suffer greatly without access to the right kind of food.
Releasing a pet bird is a death sentence (unless they miraculously get found and rescued).
If you love them, don't let them go.
So what's the answer, then?
Pet birds are here now, like it or not, and they're not going to go away. We can't let them all go outside in a counterfeit call for freedom, so where does that leave us?
Now that they're here, it's up to us to give them the best care we can and raise the standards of bird care. In my mind, spreading education is the best thing we can possibly do for the cause. Raising the standards of what is considered acceptable bird care and doing our part to kindly educate others on the topic is by far the most impactful thing we can do.
I am only one person. You are only one person. I can only do so much. But together, with all of us making an effort to educate, things will change.
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