This is just more of irresponsible pet owning.

Now, I keep birds, one of whom is an "exotic parrot" native to Asia. She was bred in the US by someone I know personally.  She is not as loud as an Amazon or macaw can be, but she is not a quiet, retiring personality.  I had a wild caught old IRN previous to this and his wings had both been broken by poachers, but that is another story.  I know of many MANY birds who have been mistreated because they are loud, noisy, unfriendly or just too much work.  I did below the RMSA in Denver where they worked to rescue and rehome birds who were in bad situations.  There are bird mills as there are puppy mills and the conditions are as bad and can be even worse.  They are still poaching wild birds and the US is now starting to allow wild caught birds to be brought in.  It is stupid on a number of levels because wild caught Amazons, macaw, cockatoos, conures and others DO NOT make good pets.  THey are also prolific in captivity breeders and we have more blue and gold macaws bred in this country EACH YEAR then are in the wild total.  Most people to acquire birds know little or nothing about their care and feeding, let alone how to appropriately handle them and socialize them.  Even a well socialized large parrot is likely to have loud periods daily at dusk and dawn, as they would in the wild.  They are not everyone's cup of tea.  Would-be bird owners don't have a clue about what birds need, so in the end they are abused or "set free" to die in the open.

It is the same thing with dogs.  My recent acquition of a dog was a well considered one.  What breed would fit the family and the lifestyle?  What size dog is appropriate to the yard and the house?  A dog, properly taken care of, will run an owner $1500 for the care for the first year.  Too many people buy a dog for their looks or as a status symbol, not thinking what it truly appropriate for their lives and situation.  Spaying is not expensive, but it is if you are short on funds or if you don't make it a priority.  I know a couple of people who have not spayed because they can't manage to allocate the funds to get it done.  Because there are many intact males in the neighborhood too, this is an accident waiting to happen.  I know this happens an awful lot.

It seems to me that the majority of people give as little thought to their pets as they do to where that steak or that pork chop are coming from.  This is a disposable society and most people have no idea of the permanence of things, or of commitment for a period of time, even indefinitely.  YOu can see it in the high divorce rate, the high consumption of stuff from McDonalds, the number of pets in shelters and the number of abused and neglected children.  I see far too few people stepping up to the plate and trying their best to live up to responsibilities. 

THis is a long rant and I know it.  I just see the problems with animal population in this country being part and parcel of a larger lack of interest and caring of far too many people on far to many levels.