About Bird Rescue, Placement & Sanctuary Organizations

A growing number of bird rescue, placement, and sanctuary organizations are facing the challenge of caring for displaced parrots. Many traditional shelter and animal control organizations are also gaining the knowledge and skills to provide suitable care and placement for the rising numbers of unwanted or abused exotic birds entering their facilities. All of these organizations can use volunteers and donations to help birds in their care. 

But whether you are looking to donate or volunteer, to plan your estate, to place your bird, or to start your own nonprofit bird rescue organization, it is important to first distinguish between legitimate organizations and substandard operations that are simply exploiting the situation for their personal benefit at the public’s-and the birds’-expense. 

Unfortunately, some groups claim to be rescue or sanctuary facilities but in reality are animal collectors or hobby breeders that simply formed a nonprofit organization and promote themselves as a refuge for birds. Others even breed the birds they rescue to fund their rescue operation or place them in breeding situations. 

Many unwanted birds also fall victim to “hoarders” who warehouse them in grossly substandard conditions while others acquire them to use for entertainment in roadside zoos or menageries or to peddle at bird marts, auctions, or over the internet.      

                                                                                 
The birds certainly deserve better! Don’t be fooled by “pseudo sanctuaries” that prey on people’s desire to help abused, abandoned, or neglected birds when, in fact, they further contribute to the suffering of birds. 

Before donating, do your research to ensure that your support is going to a genuine avian shelter, placement, or sanctuary organization.

Defining Sanctuary

An animal sanctuary is defined as “a facility that rescues and provides shelter and care for animals that have been abused, injured, abandoned or are otherwise in need.”

According to the The Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries, among the principles that true animal sanctuaries abide by are:

• No breeding or commercial trade
• No invasive or intrusive research
• No unescorted public visitation or contact in wild animal sanctuaries
• No removal of wild animals for exhibition, education, or research

What to Look for in an Avian Shelter Facility: 5 Essential Qualities

Avian rescue and shelter organizations in the U.S. and abroad range from small, home-based rescue groups that provide temporary care and placement for birds in need to large sanctuaries that provide lifetime care for hundreds of birds.  Many factors need to be considered to fairly evaluate each organization’s merits in relation to animal care, ethics, operational management, education, and advocacy. But regardless of differences in size, location, or available resources, certain qualities are universal among ethical avian rescue organizations.  Here are a few:   

Superior Avian Care - Top-notch avian sanctuaries provide birds with appropriate space, diet, and medical care, as well as opportunities to socialize with other birds, exercise, and free fly in a safe, supervised area. They pay meticulous attention to maintaining a clean, comfortable, safe, and healthy environment, and they offer a wide variety of enrichment activities so birds can enjoy their full range of natural behaviors. Each bird's individual physical and behavioral needs are always put before the desires and expectations of their human caretakers.

Professional Management - It takes more than good intentions to run a professional and sustainable nonprofit avian rescue, placement, or sanctuary organization.  Taking in large numbers of birds-especially long-lived species like macaws and cockatoos-without sufficient resources can easily overwhelm an avian care facility’s ability to provide proper care, and conditions can quickly deteriorate. 

Look for organizations with sound infrastructure, solid management, and a funding plan that will enable them to succeed long-term. They should comply with all federal, state, and legal requirements governing nonprofit organizations, have an active, independent board of directors without conflicts of interest, and offer transparency relating to their mission, animal care, and funding practices. 

For more information, click here for The Global Federation of Animal SanctuariesStandards of Excellence.

Strong Advocacy and Education Programs – An area that really defines a bona fide rescue and sanctuary organization as opposed to a “pseudo sanctuary” or “animal collector” is their ability and willingness to take a stand against practices that contribute to the suffering and exploitation of birds and other animals and work to influence social and legislative policy aimed at improving the lives of birds in captivity and protecting birds in the wild.  They’re eager to collaborate and share expertise and resources with colleagues to help ensure that birds everywhere are afforded quality care and humane treatment.

Effective avian education programs should focus on the facts, promote a better understanding of the true needs of birds, and offer solutions to the important, complex issues involved in addressing the welfare of birds.  Most importantly, they send a clear message that all birds belong in their rightful place in the wild.
  
Effective Public Outreach – Parrots are curious, intelligent, and fascinating creatures.  Their highly emotional nature and repertoire of behaviors are often entertaining to humans.  But as amusing as their antics may be, reputable groups draw the line at exploiting them for profit or self-aggrandizement.

Be wary of groups that use birds to perform tricks or hire out birds for entertainment, commercial purposes, or purely for exhibition. These practices are typical of commercial entities that profit from animals and contradict the ethical standards of non-profit animal rescue and sanctuary organizations incorporated to provide refuge and protect animals in their care
                                                                                     
Organizational Integrity - Reputable groups do not promote the commercial trade in birds, nor do they breed them or place them in breeding situations. Their sole purpose is to help birds in need.

These are just a few examples of what reputable avian rescue and sanctuary groups do! To learn more, read these articles:

Legitimate Avian Rescue and Sanctuary Organizations: What to Look For [PDF]

The Truth About Animal Sanctuaries
by the The Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries

Helping Animals or Hoarding

Animal hoarders often masquerade as “rescuers,” describing their homes as “shelters” or “refuges.” But hoarding is not about legitimate animal sheltering or rescue; it is a serious mental illness that jeopardizes the health and welfare of the animals and the people involved.

The medical profession recognizes animal hoarding as a psychiatric disease that’s closely related to obsessive-compulsive disorder. The Hoarding of Animals Research Consortium  established the following criteria to use in defining animal hoarding:

• More than the typical number of animals

• Inability to provide even minimal standards of nutrition, sanitation, shelter, and veterinary care, with the neglect often resulting in starvation, illness, and death of animals
• Denial of the inability to provide this minimum care and the impact of that failure on the animals, the household, and human occupants of the dwelling

Most states do not have clear laws and penalties to control animal hoarding.  To help to protect animals in your community, it is important that you learn the facts, understand the local ordinances and laws, and report abuse and other violations to humane enforcement authorities. 

To learn more about the efforts of groups helping birds in need, and about what you should know about animal rescue and sanctuary organizations, read the articles below. 

Recommended Articles: 

Avian Sheltering and Placement

NEW - The Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries
Standards of Excellence for Animal Sanctuaries

NEW - The Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries
Starting a Sanctuary

NEW - Association of Shelter Veterinarians
Guidelines for Standards of Care in Animal Shelters

Animal Sanctuaries and Animal Activism
by Craig Brestrup, Ph.D., Former President and Executive Director of the Association of Sanctuaries

Defining “Quality of Life” Within Animal Shelters
The Five Freedoms can serve as a guide to prevent suffering. By Lila Miller, D.V.M.

HSUS Guidelines for Animal Shelter Policies
By the Humane Society of the United States  

AWC’s Shelter Outreach Program
Assisting Shelter and Animal Control Organizations in Serving the Needs of Captive Exotic Birds

New Shelter Book: It’s for the Birds
By Carrie Allen, Animal Sheltering Magazine, Mar/Apr 07 Issue

Flocking Together: Care for Exotic Birds in the Shelter
By Carrie Allen, Animal Sheltering, Humane Society of the United States (HSUS)

Beaky, Come Home!
Animal Sheltering, Humane Society of the United States (HSUS)

Helping Birds, Rabbits & Ferrets
A Best Friends Animal Society Forum, Dec. l, 2003

Placing Your Bird with an Avian Rescue Organization
By Becky Sumber, Avian Protection Society & Denise Kelly, The Avian Welfare Coalition

Non-Profit Organizational Development
By Craig Brestrup, Ph.D, The Association of Sanctuaries (TAOS)

Animal Hoarding

Animal Hoarders Fact Sheet
by Animal Sheltering Magazine, a publication of the Humane Society of the U.S.

Tufts University -The Hoarding of Animals Research Consortium

Understanding Hoarding Disorder
Useful Links Concerning Animal Hoarding

Animal Hoarding by the ASPCA

Resources:

To learn more about the principles and practices of legitimate sanctuary organizations, or if you have questions or concerns regarding an animal care facility in your community, contact these organizations. 

The Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries(GFAS)

To research a nonprofit organization’s latest International Revenue Service Tax Return, visit Guidestar: The National Database of Non-profit Organizations at www.guidestar.org

Learn more about how you can volunteer or donate your time to parrot welfare or start your own captive bird rescue, placement, or sanctuary organization. Click here.

Overview
Parrots as Pets
Bird Rescue, Sheltering & Placement
Aviculture, Bird Mills & Retail Marketing
Sale of Unweaned Babies
Naturalized Parrots
Conservation
Bird Displacement

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