2019-11-01 People South Africa

REAL LIFE

PARROT-DISE

FOUND

BRAINY BIRDS

SANCTUARY is

home to abused

and abandoned

parrots.

P

ARROTSareintelligent,

charmingandaff ectionate

creaturesthatcanmake

wonderfullifelong

companions,sotheideaofowning

oneasapet isunderstandably

tempti ng.However,thesevery

traitsarewhatcan,forsome,make

livingwiththeseextraordinarybirds

a nightmare.“Imaginelivingwith

a toddlerfor 60 years,”saysDee

Hendrickx,founderofBrainyBirds,

anon-profi tparrot rescue centre in

Johannesburg,SouthAfrica.“Ifa bird

bondswithyouandit doesn’treceive

theatt enti onitneeds, itwillbegin to

actoutandwillbecomeaggressive.”

Owners,fearingforthehealthoftheir

fingers, sentence theirbirds to alife

behindbarsintheircages.

“Parrotscanliveforover 60 years

• imaginghavinga two-year-oldon
  you 24/7for allthat time,” Hendrickx
  conti nues. “Oft enpeoplewhobuy
  these birds thenfindthemto be
  extremelynoisyandclingyandnow
  theydon’tknowwhattodowiththe
  bird, sothey sti cktheminacage. What
  doyouexpectthebirdtodo?They’re
  goingtobecomeaggressive,shoutand
  scream and pluck all their feathers out.

Thesebirds shouldnotbein capti vity.”

BrainyBirdshasover 250 birdsinitscare

andeachonehastimeoutsideevery

day.

“We have to give themsunshine,life and

curiosity,”shesays,placinga jersey-clad

parrotcalledBonnieona chewedperch

tojointhepandemoniumofcockatoos

shouting‘hello’ at eachotherandany

oneofthevolunteerswhohappensto

walkby.

Bonnieisamutilator, abird sodeprived

ofatt enti onthat outofboredomwill

begintopluckoutitsfeathers.

“When shefirst came to us,shewas

fullofholes.Icould seeher intesti nes,”

saysHendrickx.“Becauseoftheyears

ofmutilati ng, thetissuehadgone dead

andwe hadto askfor donati onsto get

anoperati ondone. Theoperati onwent

wellandnowwegavehera jacketso

thatshewouldratherchewthejacket

thanherself. We call her ourlittle

fashionista.”

Somebirds,oncerehabilitated,will

findnew homes, butthisrehabilitation

processcantakeyearsbeforethebirds

learntotrustagain.BrainyBirds,a

registeredNPO, relies ondonati onsfrom

thepublic.

DeeHendrickx

Bonnie, the ‘mutilator’ cockatoo

SOURCE: GREATSTOCK

VISIT BRAINYBIRDS.CO.ZA TO DONATE