Parakeets’ Heads Ripped Off: How Are PetSmart and Petco Tied to This?
In a metal barn in Oklahoma, 10,000 parakeets are crammed 24/7 in tiny cages. In less than a month, PETA’s investigator and other workers found nearly 1,400 dead birds, while the survivors’ offspring are eventually sold like merchandise at pet stores such as PetSmart, Petco, and Petland. This parakeet prison is called Creekside Birds, and unless we speak up, thousands more will suffer!
Parakeets—aka budgies—are small parrots who, in nature, fly across huge landscapes in flocks of up to several hundred and have conversations with each other. But Creekside keeps parakeets used for breeding trapped in dark metal cages so tiny that the birds can’t even spread their wings.
PETA’s investigator saw many birds pacing back and forth, bobbing up and down, and climbing the cage bars, signs of deep frustration and distress.
Workers here aren’t just the parakeets’ imprisoners—they’re also their tormenters.
A senior worker crushed parakeets’ necks between his thumb and forefinger. A co-owner said he also killed birds this way, and that “if you pinch them hard enough, it smashes their throat.”
The same senior worker killed sick birds by throwing them against the ground and ripping some birds’ heads off. A co-owner said that he also tears birds’ heads off, and that “it’s faster if you rip it off.” If the birds escaped from cages and weren’t captured, workers said that they used a BB gun to shoot and kill them.
Birds who survived this violence were left seriously hurt. The investigator saw birds who were apparently paralyzed, and one could only blink.
PETA’s investigator named this parakeet Nancy. When she got caught in a cage wire and was attacked by another stressed bird, she suffered severe injuries to her face and wing, and apparently even lost an eye. The investigator asked Creekside’s co-owner if he would call a veterinarian for Nancy, but he said, “Not [for] something like this.” Without the care she needed, Nancy died after suffering for at least two weeks.
The investigator found that another parakeet—whom they named Thomas—couldn’t stand and seemed to have a neurological problem. When they suggested that Thomas needed veterinary care, a senior worker laughed and said, “If we had [a veterinarian] come check on every bird, I don’t think we’d be profiting in here.”
So, what happens to all the birds who are bred at Creekside? PETA’s investigator found out that, once a week, an employee stuffed hundreds of juvenile birds into tiny wire carriers, and they were driven to an Oklahoma wholesaler, OK Birds. From there, they were sent to dealers that shipped them to pet stores, which trapped them in other small cages before selling them to anyone with a credit card. And remember, only parakeets who don’t die painfully at the breeding factory make it to this stage of suffering.
how to help
There are thousands of miserable birds like Nancy and Thomas who need your help.
Please urge PetSmart, Petco, and Petland to stop selling birds—and let them know that you won’t shop at their stores until they stop selling all animals!
