The thing about parrots...

Why the Caged Bird Does Not Sing

Captivity and Complex PTSD in parrots and people.

Published on October 16, 2011 by Gay Bradshaw in Bear in Mind Peanut. Photo credit: MAARS and Susan Donohue

No bird soars too high if he soars with his own wings. -William Blake It is usual and customary these days to forewarn with disclaimers such as “the following material contains scenes of a disturbing and violent nature” and “discretion is advised.” What typically follows are scenes of violence and its victims. Yet you will see no such cautions posted in “pet” stores or zoos, for one plain and simple reason: caged animals are socially acceptable and culturally normative. Screaming parrots, pacing tigers, swaying stereotypic elephants, and orcas with vacant eyes pressed to the glass aquarium wall [1] are not considered harmful to eyes and minds of children or others. Bars, glass, and other barriers behind which wildlife are interred are portrayed as only slight alterations of an animal’s natural habitat and history. (via Why the Caged Bird Does Not Sing | Psychology Today)