The Hidden Cruelty Behind America's 13 Million Pet Birds

One in 20 American households owns a pet bird. That's roughly 13 million birds living in cages across the country, making them the fourth most popular pet after dogs, cats, and fish. But a new undercover investigation reveals that the colorful parrots chirping in pet stores may have come from facilities that would shock their eventual owners.

Pete Paxton, a veteran animal cruelty investigator, spent months documenting conditions at several "bird mills" — large-scale breeding operations that supply the retail pet market. What he found challenges everything we think we know about the cute parakeets and chatty cockatoos that have become beloved family members.

Inside America's Bird Mills

At Fancy Parrots in South Texas, 3,000 birds of various species live in rusting cages across 17 barns. The facility breeds African Greys, macaws, and cockatoos — species that in the wild soar through vast rainforests and form complex social bonds. Here, they're confined to breeding pairs in cages, many showing signs of feather-plucking, an abnormal behavior that veterinarians say indicates stress, boredom, or sexual frustration.

"It was very loud — lots of birds calling out to us," Paxton recalled, comparing the cacophony to puppy mills he's investigated. The barns had roofs but no sides, leaving birds vulnerable to weather extremes. During one cold snap, 20 birds died.

The investigation revealed a troubling pattern across multiple facilities. At a parakeet mill in Oklahoma, 7,500 birds were crammed into tiny stacked cages reminiscent of factory egg farms. Paxton documented piles of dead birds in trash cans, including one stuffed headfirst into a red Solo cup. The owner explained matter-of-factly that birds that peck each other get killed by suffocation in bags.

"There are always some dead," the man said. "Always."

The Paradox of Pet Bird Love

These conditions exist despite being largely legal under current regulations. The facilities Paxton visited were USDA-licensed and operating within federal guidelines — meaning this represents the best the industry has to offer, not its worst.

The paradox is stark: Americans buy parrots because they love their intelligence, beauty, and capacity for companionship. Surveys show owners are motivated by affection and the desire for a meaningful relationship with their pet. Yet these same birds often come from operations that treat them as mere breeding stock.

Dr. Alix Wilson, an exotic pet veterinarian who briefly worked at a parrot mill two decades ago, witnessed the systemic problems firsthand: fighting that resulted in missing eyes and toes, resource-guarding, parent-chick separation, and cramming birds into crates for long-distance transport.

"I quickly became aware of the issues of just confining these animals and basically breeding them for profit," Wilson said.

The Captivity Problem

Even in loving homes, fundamental welfare issues persist. The most obvious is that pet birds can't do what evolution designed them for: fly. Many owners clip their birds' wings to prevent escape, further limiting their natural behaviors.

The numbers tell a concerning story. Between 10 to 17.5 percent of pet birds develop feather-plucking and other self-destructive behaviors. A 2021 study found that larger-brained captive birds are more likely to show stress behaviors like repetitive pacing and cage bar biting — suggesting that the very intelligence that makes parrots appealing pets also makes captivity more psychologically damaging.

Karen Windsor, who runs a parrot sanctuary in Rhode Island, sees the long-term consequences daily. Many parrots live 50 years or longer, often outliving their owners or being surrendered when families can no longer cope with their needs.

"We're still dealing with birds that were bred in the '70s and '80s — they're still in the system," explains Judy Tennant of Parrot Partners Canada. "And the industry is still pumping out new birds."

A Growing Movement for Change

The investigation has sparked calls for reform. World Animal Protection is pushing for pet store bans on bird sales, similar to laws already covering dogs and cats in hundreds of US jurisdictions. Currently, more than half of all pet birds are purchased from pet stores, making retail restrictions potentially impactful.

Federal oversight remains weak. While bird breeders were only recently brought under the Animal Welfare Act, smaller operations that sell fewer than 200 small birds or eight large birds annually remain exempt from inspection.

Some advocates go further, questioning whether keeping these wild, undomesticated animals as pets can ever be ethical. "These are wild animals whose physical and psychological needs are not even close to being met," said Liz Cabrera Holtz of World Animal Protection.