We are discussing laws about feather pets in the world. There’s no right reason not to get two unless you’re adopting one from a rescue.
The budgie is often thought of as a “beginner bird,” and that is the truth, but you must know that this social, outgoing little bird deserves just as much care, attention, and love as larger parrots. They also deserve the same rights and protection as other pets.
However, did you know that in some countries of the world there are laws where you can go to jail for keeping small parrots and where the law prescribes how you can keep these cute little birds as pets.
We consider it extraordinary because we have to admit that many people abuse these little birds and don’t hold them in the right way. Whether it is about the diet, the environment, the size of the cage, the quality time they spend with their bird, especially if the bird has no life companion, with whom he or she shares good and evil.
For example, in Australia, it is illegal to take a wild tiger and keep it at home, and in Sweden, there are laws that are ideal for these little birds and protect them as the constitution protects human rights.
In the beginning, we must write about really great animal/pet-related laws and regulations in Sweden. The laws in Sweden regulating how you’re supposed to keep and care for birds, reptiles, and other pets. We can say that the laws encourage people to keep their animals as close to nature as possible and to make sure every pet gets to perform all their natural behaviors in an enriched environment.
The law in Sweden says you are never allowed to clip a bird’s wings until the bird is fully developed. The bird achieves its full development by one year, so you’re only allowed to clip the wings once a year. Also, you must have on record that you can’t train the bird to wear a harness.
In this beautiful country they also have regulations on how big the cages have to be. The smallest allowed cage size for an Alexandrine is 200x110x120cm (6′6″x3′7″x3′11″), for a Macaw, you’ll have to build yourself an aviary measuring 360x181x180cm (11′9″x5′9×5′9) or more, and for a Cockatiel it’s 120x70x80cm (3’11″x2’3″x2’7″). And we find it really huge, and wonderful for this pet, and gives them enough space to leave and fly in the cage.
And when we talk about the standard minimum cage size recommended by bird professionals in the other country, it is 12- by 18- by 18-inches for a single bird. Of course, this cage size is fine if your budgie is outside of the cage most of the time. But if your budgie spends most of the time in the cage, it’s going to be much too small to keep your bird happy and healthy.
You must choose a cage for your budgie that is best for him, or them if you have more than one bird. We know that is very hard to choose the right cage when you have budgie cages of every shape, size, and color. And how do you know which one is the best? Well, first you need to make sure the cage is an appropriate size for your budgie and it must be safe. For you, and also your bird is important that it is easy to clean if you want your bird to be healthy. Then you must think about necessary features such as perches and feed containers, and you need to give your dear pet a few special toys, so it can be happy, and then you will be happy too.
According to Swedish laws, you’re also not allowed to remove any baby birds from the parents, which is a great thing in our opinion. You also can’t hand feed them unless you have to, and you may have to in the case when parents won’t. You are also not allowed to separate little birds from their parents if the baby isn’t basically pushed out of the nest and starved to death by the parents.
In the law, it also said that you also need to keep your bird with another bird, or birds, of the same species or genus. Even if you’ve got an aggressive bird you need to have at least one other bird nearby so that they can see each other and communicate verbally. But, if you are personally able to substitute a bird friend, you can get to keep a bird alone.
Sometimes, of course, you have to keep a single budgie, and that is OK too. But you must admit when a bird has a friend, it is more beautiful than to have a single bird and you have to be their best friend. You also need to have a human friend, so are the birds. You have to think about of enclosures and environments of your birds also.
When we talk about the terms, you must know that the budgie is most commonly referred to as a more generic term “parakeet” in the United States. The wild budgie is similar to the birds we see today in pet shops. We find them only in the nominate color green and between 6 and 7 inches long. This Latin name means, a songbird with wavy lines, which is a pretty good description of this popular and loving bird.
The budgie is native to Australia, where it still dominates the grasslands in large, undulating flocks. The wild parakeet is found in large flocks that are always on the search for water and food, which is limited in the scrublands. These grateful pets breed in the rainy season when they have water and food, and nest in trees. Farmers do not like these birds, and they often know how to destroy crops, and they especially like to eat cereals.
John Gould and Charles Cohen, his brother-in-law, brought Budgies to Europe around 1838. Europeans soon became fascinated by these small, fast-breeding birds, and they became the main pets of the rich. At the zoo in Antwerp, Belgium around 1850, those birds were exhibited and have since become even more popular, and not just with the rich. As a result, Australia banned the export of parrots in 1894, and Europeans had to cultivate existing stocks to continue keeping these birds as pets. In America, those birds were found in the late 1920s, but they experienced real popularity in the 1950s. This has led to this naughty bird being the most popular in the world and most often people opt for this bird as a pet.
When we talk about the law in Australia, in the Victorian wildlife act from 1975. Year, section III states that it is not allowed for a person to take any wildlife from the wild, or to destroy, buy, sell, dispose of, possess, keep, control, breed, process or display any wildlife taken from the wild if you are not specifically approved by the certified to do so.
The lifespan of a parrot is between 7 and 15 years, although on average it is far less than seven due to mistreatment, accident, or lack of knowledge about proper care of those sweet birds. Often, due to improper diet, these little birds can get sick and suffer from fatty tumors and liver, obesity, intestinal parasites, and all of the above require veterinary care. Most owners do not take their parrots to the vet, but they also require the vet’s attention, as do other pets such as a dog or cat, which are most often taken to the vet.
It is interesting fact, that, unlike other animals, parrots live much longer in captivity than in the wild. For example, wild parrots can live between 4 and 6 years, both because of other predators and because of diseases from which they can get sick in nature.
Budgies are very social birds, and in the wild, they live with a large flock and bond in pairs for life. Budgies are playful and they absolutely need social interaction.
You also must think about complications if you start with two budgies and one dies. In that case, you have to think about quarantining the new budgie, and also about the compatibility of personality, gender, and age. It’s possible for the birds to not get along at all, in which case you then have two solo birds who need separate cages, attention, space. Because, the original bird has a routine, their cage is their territory, and budgie can be jealous when you spread your attention to another budgie.
In the end, and according to some laws, please noticed that you should never buy a solo budgie right from the start. There’s no right reason not to get two unless you’re adopting one from a rescue. In that case, they sometimes specifically tell you that the bird would do better alone. It can happen in the case of some aggressive birds that were used as breeders. As a conclusion and a request, if you’re getting pet store babies, please just get two.
And we hope that we helped a little bit to all of you who may be new to birds and don’t really know how to take care of them. And of course, we must respect the law, don’t we?
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Thanks for such valuable information. It inspired me to post my reflection. I don't intend to offend anyone, just to express my feelings on this issue.
Owning birds as pets comes from the 1800s. I can't believe people have the same mentality today. I mean, I think that the idea of having birds in a box is ridiculous and cruel to them! And by a box, I mean a space of four sides, either called a cage or a room. I ask myself: "can't we celebrate and protect the fact that they are able to fly freely through the sky, spread their wings in the air, and go wherever they wish to?"
Oh, I hope one day soon, we can all stand in those birds' place and really feel how unfair and sad keeping them in a cage is.
For things like this, I am ashamed of being human kind.