Parrots are intelligent, long-lived birds with complex social and cognitive needs. Understanding these needs is essential for providing adequate welfare in home settings.
Companion parrots face welfare challenges from conditions that fail to meet their complex cognitive and social needs. Solitary confinement in small cages, lack of foraging opportunity, and social isolation cause severe psychological distress expressed as feather destruction, screaming, and aggression. Parrots need flight space, daily interaction, complex foraging enrichment, and ideally a companion bird. The pet parrot trade perpetuates suffering at multiple stages — capture, breeding, and inadequate home care. Prospective owners must research requirements extensively before commitment.