Hi friends! Birds are the most common contraband - two to five million wild birds are traded illegally every year around the globe. And next to parrots, songbirds are cruelly slaughtered too: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/lduoqcd6zMvcaKc.html

It's so sad that so many parrots r smuggled but even worse is how many die because of it. Hopefully this video opened someone's eyes who was looking for a bird and will do their research before buying one. Thank you Terra Mater for another informative video.

Before taking in a parrot, remember: 1) Many species are endangered, or at least protected; make sure they are accompanied by the necessary certificates. 2) Before buying/adopting, research extensively about the care requirements and lifespan of the species you are interested in and plan well in advance; many parrot are NOT for most owners. 3) Never take in a wild born parrot; buying from a reputable breeder or adopt, and always learn as much as possible about the individual/s you are taking in. 4) As a rule, parrots are highly gregarious, and require constant social interactions; are you SURE you alone are enough of a flock for him/her? . These rules of course apply to any pet, but are ESPECIALLY important for parrots.

I wish these problems could be addressed at the UN, it’s simple policy making that can solve the entire problem. Ofcourse some work on the ground is needed but by the right laws and restrictions alone, we could get so far!

Something has to be done about this! We can't allow this to continue! I don't want all the world's beautiful parrots go extinct by the next year or so.😭 Let's put an end to illegal wildlife trade! Don't buy parrots!🦜🚫 Ban the parrot pet trade! We can save many lives doing this! Don't let the parrots go extinct!🦜💖

I have a green cheek conure. It’s been a great honor and blessing to have her in my life. But there will always be a part of me that feels guilty to have potentially contributed to this issue. Now to the best of my knowledge and based on the certificate I was given, my bird was captive breed locally (I live in Hawaii). Having her in my life has shown me just how intelligent these birds are and I totally agree that they belong in the wild and not captivity. The only ones that I would now ever consider making a new family member, are those who have been pets in other homes and are looking for somebody to adopt them. It breaks my heart and it’s not ok for these wild caught parrots to have to experience this. While my parrot can’t be released anymore, I still do my best to keep her happy. She gets plenty of her favorite treats (blue berries and rice to name a few) and loves head scratches and will actually bite me whenever I stop.

As a Brazilian I'm really sad to see this, and unfortunately it's not something the government pays that much attention to it

Another problem with this is species that can become invasive. Imported as pets and intentionally released or escaped by themselves, some parrot species have become a major issue in non-native places by competing with native bird species for food and nesting sites. Justv as I was watching the video, the small flock of Monk Parakeets that lives near my house flew by the balcony. The problem is that I live in Italy, 9000 km away from their native Argentina.

This is totally madness, this really has to be stopped. So sorry #terra just can't continue watching this mini documentary.. 😭😭😭

this needs to stop its just sooooooooooooooo cruel and heartbreaking even though they are so cute the hardships they face is not worth it

Gonna have to watch this in chunks, but just know that I really appreciate y'all for spreading the word and getting this information out there!

Justice for parrots

I love birds especially parrots a lot. In my opinion they deserve as much as people. Most of them are as intelligent as human children, so they truly deserve as much protection from abuse

People just need to get pigeons or chickens! They're smart, DOMESTICATED, come in a variety of colors, and much easier to care for.

in Pakistan, the population of common green parrot and Alexandrine Parrot is almost finished due to illegal trade and poaching... almost all of the parrots are now in captivity...

Thank you for talking about these crises. We are all sleep-walking to disaster.

Education of would-be owners cannot be stressed enough. Too many people don't realize how much care these birds need, and how old they can get. This causes many owners to abandon their pets, all that suffering seen in this video for nothing.

I worked in the retail pet industry for a decade. Where I worked for the vast majority of that time, we sourced all of our birds from licensed breeders, and I know regular audits were conducted to ensure nothing untoward was going on. For all our parrots, we actually received them as fledglings and hand fed them on site for several weeks before weening, as well as giving them plenty of attention and play. And as one of the people certified to do the hand feeding, I can say the impact on their demeanour is massive. Ethically sourced birds are certainly considerably more expensive than their illegally procured counterparts, but you really get what you pay for. Not only are the captive-bred, hand-raised birds generally quite a bit healthier, but they're also just much, much better companions. Wild-caught birds are just that-wild. They might learn to tolerate humans, but they'll never form the same bonds that hand-raised birds do. There was absolutely no comparison between the personalities of the captive-bred, hand-raised birds from the place I worked for most of my time and the dubiously-sourced birds from the sketchy operation where I started, or the many other wild-caught birds I've encountered elsewhere over the years. At this point, I'm honestly pretty ambivalent about the ethics of keeping pets at all-any pets, even dogs. But if you're going to keep pets, it's undeniable that there's a right and a wrong way to source them. Fortunately, in the case of birds, the more ethical path is also better for the consumer. Yes, ethically-sourced birds are more expensive, but when you're buying an animal who'll be your companion for many decades to come, honestly, the price shouldn't be a huge consideration-factored over the lifetime of the bird, the savings from a dubiously-sourced bird becomes negligible. But the difference in the relationship is quite significant. Captive-bred, hand-raised birds are just plain better pets. And they can bond with their humans as much as any dog and display a great deal of affection. Honestly, I'd worry more about other parts of the exotic pet trade than parrots. Illegal reptile smuggling, for example, can cause all the same problems as birds, but the incentives are much less clear for the consumer. As I've said, with parrots, the ethical choice is also very clearly the better choice for the consumer, too. But with reptiles, that's not always the case, and many highly sought-after species are extremely difficult to breed in captivity, too. Animals like the Solomon Island skink have been seriously threatened by the exotic pet trade, and to be honest, for the consumer, it's pretty hard to tell the difference between an ethically-sourced reptile and an illegally smuggled one. So I'd argue it's more important to focus on the cases where the incentives are more badly aligned. In the case of parrots, consumer education can go a long way. As I said, I'm not sure we should be keeping any animals as pets. But if we are going to keep pets, I think it's hard to argue that ethically-sourced parrots aren't one of the better choices. They are quite demanding, and its important that people are well-informed about the commitment they're getting into and prepared to care for their bird responsibly. But a well cared for, captive-bred, hand-raised parrot will bond with its owner like few other pets. They're full of love and affection, and you'll be well-rewarded for giving them the attention they require. And their long lives are another thing prospective-owners must be educated about, but they can be another great advantage, and there are great species with lifespans ranging from 15-25 years (cockatiels) to upwards of 60-70 years for some of the larger species, so they're one of the few pets that can really be a lifelong companion.

I really want to THANK YOU for this amazing video!

This is such an important issue. Thank you for addressing it! The video is really hard to watch, though, because of it's so fast-paced

Thank you for spreading all these precious informations!

This is a whole new kind of wrong

ADOPT ADOPT ADOPT ADOPT!!!! I was just considering adopting a cockatoo from a local shelter after volunteering for a bit. They are all rescues that deserve a good home to live the rest of their days, with less time in a cage. It never made sense to me why you would get something that could practically fly anywhere they want, in a cage. I think that speaks more volumes psychologically. And for the breeders…just as with any job involving animal captivity and even animal slaughter you have to be so far removed. From your humanity, from your own animalistic nature. It’s sadistic.

I love my parrot as if he were my child. He's only kept in his cage at night or when I can't take him somewhere with me. Otherwise, he is free to fly around and play all day. He came from a registered breeder, so thank goodness he never had to go through this! It breaks my heart to see wild birds treated this way! I have such a soft spot for birds, especially parrots, and this treatment is nothing short of barbaric. I actually recently moved across the world and went through CITES to take him with me. It was nothing short of terrifying, I had never been so stressed in my life, having to leave him in the hands of others. It ruins me knowing how many parrots are abandoned by people for the pettiest of reasons.

It is important to remember that "captive" is not the same as "domestic". Domestic animals have been bred for hundreds or thousands of years to adapt to human conditions, such as being able to tolerate smaller spaces, eat foods with higher starch content, or preferring the company of humans. Captive animals come from wild stock that has zero adaptations for living with humans. The only bird in the parrot family that even comes close to "domestic" are Budgies, but only if purchased from a reputable breeder, rather than collected from truly wild stock in Australia. "Semi-domestic" budgies have been bred in captivity since the 1850s and are being bred into different breeds, similar to fancy pigeons. Every other parrot species, without exception, are wild animals that are not pets any more than an elephant or wolf can be a "pet".

Its insane to think that so many animals that have feelings and thoughts are smuggled by the thousands just for money. Horrible, truly horrible.

Please leave wild as wild... Otherwise no life will exist. As for the survive of humans every life needs to exists equally

This is especially sad because parrots are also the most rehomed pet in the world. Parrots are loud, destructive, messy, expensive (especially vet care if you get a wild caught one, it will have dieseases, parasites, and general health problems because of the stress), and they require a LOT of time and attention. They are like a 6 year old kid who never grows up, and they can become 80+ years old and WILL outlive you. Imagine getting a wild caught bird, transporting it around the globe with so many of them dying, only for the new owners to be overwhelmed because they didn't realize what they got into, so the bird gets rehomed multiple times and spends the rest of its life in a rescue. :(

I always had a bad feeling about the animal and specially Bird 🐦market . And I used to wonder how parrots were captured. Thanks for spreading awareness .

One such as I must add to the so-difficult-to-rationalize-it's-unmistakable turpitude, profound puzzlement over why at any point, in any frame of mind, to any possible end, I would ever wish to own a bird.

I knew it, something is fishy concerning parrots being sold as pets, given their general intelligence.

This is why morality of having pets in vegan community is such a controversial issue. It was horrific and heart-breaking to see Parrots being tortured to such extent 😭

If you view this and realise how many birds end up in shelters its even more baffling. Most parrots aren't great pets, they are destructive, get aggressive and anxious easily, especially since a lot of owners don't handle them properly. I have a love bird (agapornis) he was surrendered to the local bird shelter without a mate, there he picked up one and we got them both. At that place were multiple parrots and an abundance of dwarf parrots and parakeets. It was honestly sad to see, since they did what they could to give them a good home but there are just too much birds being sold and later surrendered because they don't live up to the owners expectations. The mate of my bird died after two years of being completely bald (we went to the vet a LOT, which didn't do anything) the one left is allowed to fly around the house at least 5 hours a day, he is very affectionate.

the music was kinda too good man distracted my whole house started dancing

I live with a Sun Conure who will be 20 years old next March. I only recently found out that her species is endangered in the wild. I have read about parrot trafficking recently as well. It’s just so sad. These creatures are so beautiful and wonderful it’s so sad that they are so sought after as pets but the first pet to be rehomed.

Buying/adopting a domestic bird:👍 Buying a bird that u don't know were did it come from:😨😨😱😱😱🚫🚫🚫❌❌❌ Also, releasing a domestic bird:❌❌❌❌🚫🚫🚫🚫🚫🚫🚫🚫🚫🚫🚫❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌😵😵😵😵😵

I have an unfortunately wild baby sun conure. I am his second home. His original owner was just about to sell him. I was a volunteer at the time in a wild animal center that suddenly had to take in a lot of birds like this for treatment. Amongs them there was a very very malneurished lil sun conure. Unlike the rest he didn't eat well and needed to be forse fed. This need for more work with him caused imprinting. Some of the injured went to zoos and a good chunk of babies went back to conservation centers where they can find foster parents. But this lil sun conure never got his chance. He was too imprinted. And he never got along with other sun conures when introduced in our local zoo. So now he lives with me. I have certification from the government that marks him as a contraband animal and a wild caught baby and it marks that in the instance I am not able to care for it he shall be returned under government care. (I asked about that and now he has godparents that I know and they are ready to step in if needed. They are like his 3rd favourite ppl).

This is sad. 🥺

My uncle had a Quaker parrot that flew into his house one day and neglected him a lot. I took him in and he is a fiesty little messy thing lol they are such a big responsibility and I know i will not be getting another, would rather voulenteer at a parrot sancturary

WHY, JUST WHY??!?! MY DREAM BIRB IS GONNA GET KILLED!!

Thanks for the report. I wasn't going to buy a parrot anyway, but I definitely won't now. In the London, UK area there are flocks of feral parakeets.

thank you for raising this issue its so sad that these animals and birds have such a small life span to enjoy the world but they are kept in a cage, if you will be cruel to someone then you will face cruelty too in life someday

Heartbreaking

Now I understand why the 55yr old parrot my mother bought only likes my 8yr old. Hates everyone else. Because he was probably one of those birds captured and he knows my daughter is just a baby and didn’t do that to him 😢. This is so sad

That bottle image makes me so sad was it alive?

I rarely comment on videos, but this is so frustrating and maddening. I’ve heard about this, but I didn’t know it was THIS intense. I never knew parrots died during this process and the image of the cockatoo in a plastic bottle was so infuriating.

This is terribly distressing! I wish everything that could be done to stop it, would be done! People can at least oppose it and sign petitions against it, and not buy the birds. And they could join animal charities and donate to them, to pay for rangers and so on to protect them!

I don’t know why you would want a squawk box in your house...

Interesting, so sad but Thanks to all the people who help and resque many . Please don t sell, don t transport, don t adopt...care for these birds and help Love and care....🧡💞🍀☀️

i cant watch this video, i have so much emphaty. sorry i would start to cry😭

this is why i got mine from a certified breeder in germany

This is disgusting. & didn't know went to this level.

As a Filipino there a wild parrot in philippines include the Ph cockatoo aka red vented cockatoo when police and village wanted protected the bird not as pet

Mach weiter so!

this is why my bird quickly fly away when i open

Breeders charging 1000+ usd for a bird ….. that’s the real problem

Its broke my heart.

Poor babies

2022 and people still think that it is ok to have a wild animal at home... It is just a disgusting way of thinking!

I imagine that Bank's Operatives with Bluetooth headset might feel Related to this... "They didn't bought the suggested Share over Carbon Saving Funds... Life is Miserable... The Michelin Stars don't taste the same without having firstly accomplished something... I will hurt myself tonight... I will sleep in a 4 Star Hotel... without Spa... with a Standardized Continental Buffet....!!!" " Oooh nOoooh!!! My life will be never be the same!!" " I understand your suffering... but it was an Harsh Day...and nobody told you to stop Suc........."

The white Cockatoo is not endangered, It is actually thriving in Australia, and like some other parrot species has adapted well to living in cities. And I can assure you neither Budgies or Quarrions, both shown in your video, are anyway threatened.

Jesus💔💔💔

This is absolutely terrifying.

Is not just the problem of capturing wild parrots but there is people that buy them with not education as to how to care this pet parrots and once they get to be adults acting on thier instinct the people gets tired of them, they get put on an empty room or mostly abandon this beautiful birds that sadly had attached to the human owner, when abandoned this birds gets stressed and heart broken! There are so many abandoned parrots that are difficult to re attach to an other owner and mostly they do not get adopted! in theirs distress they pluck theirs feathers! and get agressive! That's the sad reality of this pet trade! It takes up to 3 years for an abandoned parrot to re inprint to a new loving owner! And there is not many people to have that patience! 😢

The movie Rio may have exacerbated the situation a little bit.

How can i help birds :(

This video needs to be seen my MILLIONS of people. Owning a pet parrot ought to be stigmatized as much as leaving your kid alone in a car on a hot day. Only then will the incentive to owning an exotic pet be offset. The story of many parrots dying during travel reminds me of the Atlantic slave trade. Sickening.

Human can't understand or Human won't want to understand 😒

This was really sad to watch, but thank you for making such an informative video!

People should petting Crested myna bird because Crested myna are smart

Aside from sharing the video, what can be done to actually help?

Why there so cute

Catching wild parrots (or any wild animals for that matter) should be illegal in the whole world!

This is fucking sick 😭😭

This has to stop!!! Severe punishment is necessary for these criminals!! You have to make it so they simply won’t do it! Not worth the risk!! Come on!!

My parents owned several parrots, mostly budgies, some of them were able to talk. I thought that I knew parrots since I lived with them all my life. Later on I was able to observe the wildlife parrots and their behavior. There's a huge gap between house kept and wild living bird. I'll never again own a parrot. Human just cannot substitute the society of other birds for his parrot.

But not all parrot pet shops doesn't do that and dont worry for the people are thinking to buy a macaw or any other parrot. The actual reason for this parrot dying and extinction is because of the illegal poaching and hunting for this birds to become and in this process so many birds get hurt and then they go to the street for selling this parrots but not all shops do that's some of the ships take special care and a taming person for this parrots with a healthy and so many birds curing so you can buy birds but from a good and trusted exotic bird shop

so appalling

If your not willing to pay then your not ready for the responsibility!

You should always inform yourself about the origin of an animal before getting them.

birds don't belong in cages

People do not follow the rules of the road.

Poachers should all be locked up or better yet ..... (edit: back after 10 months, will watch it to the end this time, it was too much before) 90% don't make it, what disgusting people catch, trade and buy these animals. All animals should be free, nothing has to be locked up or on display. Thanks for making this video (you referenced it in a newer one just out) and thanks for bringing up the subject.

How about "shut up I can do what I want"?

This is awful especially if you know parrots and know how social they are. They love their family and mates so much, you dont just harm the parrots you capture but their family and mates just as much. We have 2 conures in our home, both from a shelter. Because the incredible reality is that shelters are just full of parrots in need of a home. If we could just get parrots out of shelters in loving homes none of this would be necessary. Why on earth contribute to this if you can rescue a parrot that actually needs a home. Please adopt!!

It’s just as much the breeders fault, as it is the traffickers. They ramp the prices, more or less forcing people to buy from less than reputable websites, which in turn feeds the traffickers their income. And it’s not just parrots they do this to. Sugar gliders, monkeys, fish…it’s all a vicious cycle. And the blame goes all around.

I feel disturbed watching this. For me, having birds as pets is just not a good idea.

Whomever filmed those poachers and then did nothing is a horrible person. If a human sees a poacher, that poacher's life should immediately be ended. The same goes for loggers in rainforests.

Basically us humans have to take every animal out of the wild and domesticate it. Now a lot of these animals are in decline and some are invasive. House cats are a big one. House cats being let outside is wiping out the bird population to the point of extinction. But no one talks about that it's to controversial.

If you get a species which lives in the wild exclusively in Australia or New Zealand, the probability of them being poached is almost zero. Because those countries can regulate wildlife better and are separated from other countries by sea. Don't get a South American or African species if you cannot be 100% sure they were bred in captivity by a reputable breeder

Nahh. .we wont stop until they go extinct!!!! Im generally terrified of the fact that something this beautiful is locked up in a small cage for it entire life just so that people can be amused!!!

Poor parrots

We are putting a whole species to extinction when there is a whole other species that we have domesticated for centuries but then forgot about, calling them dirty pests and such. The pigeon is arguably a species of domestic bird so we should be keeping THEM as pets instead!

People owning parrots feel special. Everyone can own a cat or a dog, right? But I don't own a mundane kind of animal like that, I have an exotic pet. Never mind that a parrot would be much happier with its own kind in the wild. That's pure selfishness.

I still find it weird to see them in the wild after seeing them as pets my entire life, and now I find out that the supply chain for pet parrots can be full of poachers. Normal people might hate poachers, but often times it's normal people keeping poachers in business. Because of that, educating the public is easily one of the best weapons against poachers, and I'm glad your video brought this to my attention.

Without the pet trade most of these parrot wont exist as they would be extinct in thd wild that why pet trade is important

The commodification of animals is usually cruel in some shape way or form. It’s why I advocate for rescue, instead of buying/selling. It’s why reptile expos are ripe with animal neglect.

Get a budgie or a lovebird and leave the other parrots in the wild or the zoo

I'm going to make a statement here that may upset some, but in watching all of the "moving parts" related to birds, and parrots particularly, several truths have emerged over time. First, the comparative level of sympathy, compassion, and concern for avians pales compared to that afforded to mammals. General affection and caring for the welfare of burds for is much, much lower than for mammals. Birds of all species suffer for being "non-mammals." Secondly, parrots were never selectively bred for behavioral traits the way dogs, cats, and horses were. This is also true for the unfortunate descendants of Gallus gallus, the ancestor species of "chickens," and there is similarly little or no compassion for selectively-bred duck, goose, and turkey breeds, either. The entirely self-serving argument that it's acceptable to breed any bird in captivity and force most to exist in tiny cages therefore flies in the face of evolutionary and behavioral reality. And yes, that includes breeds of duck or goose purposefully bred to be too heavy to fly. That was physiological selective breeding, not behavioral selective breeding. Their suffering is real. Avians are perhaps the most commodified classes of vertebrates, suffering enormously for simply being avian. Only at the and of the video is it mentioned that a high percentage of parrot purchased and kept, not including the much-suffering Budgerigar or Cockatiel, are relinquished within 2 years as impulse buyers belatedly wake up to the fact that avians are living beings and not toys. Parrots (and all birds) require care, proper food, exercise, fresh air and natural light, exploration and exercise opportunities, enrichment toys, intense socialization, and they are not naturally "quiet." The ones relinquished to rescues and sanctuaries are the lucky ones. Many people simply dump unwanted parrots at pet shops where the birds are simply resold, dumped, and resold, over and over. Other unlucky birds are sometimes merely dumped outside without another care about predation, starvation, or exposure. People throw the birds outside, informing them they are "free" now, too stupid to understand that isn't how reality operates for discarded pet birds. They were never free, and now are simply abandoned. Others are locked up in cages, sometimes given food and water, kept in dark, damp, dimly lit places in total isolation, and even subjected to physical abuse, mutilation, and torture. This sometimes goes on for decades. Why? The human keeping them as a prisoner is too stupid, lazy, or even malevolent to spend time looking for a suitable home and then letting the bird go to a better home. When we compare "pet" situations in a country like the USA, we find that shelter, sanctuary, and rescue resources are centered solely and only on mammals. To aid domesticated predators, predominantly, the public is taxed to provide those services by municipal acencies, even if the accommodations for those mammals is not always humane. There is no such parallel public system to assist abused, neglected, or relinquished pet birds. They are solely reliant upon charitable organizations and their operators, of which there are fewer, by many orders of magnitude, than dog and cat rescue. Against these variables and those mentioned in the documentary, the birds will likely become permanently displaced refugee populations, the way parrots living in a German city have (documented by Terra Mater). The one and only way to stop this is to ban parrot habitat destruction for any reason, globally ban possession of parrots and other wild birds, ban holding them in captivity, and mean it with inflicting harsh penalties on all human accomplices. Anything else will be too little, too late.

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