For the Love of Birds

         If you are a fifty-year-old parrot captured as a baby in the wild and shipped to America, used for many years for breeding in the exotic pet trade, kept in a cage all your life and discarded when you get old, where do you end up?  If you are lucky, you will live out your days with other members of your flock flying in huge aviaries, loved and well fed, at Project Perry, a parrot rescue sanctuary in Virginia.

         Not all of the hundreds of birds at Project Perry share the same background.  Many people don’t realize how long some parrots live, and that some birds outlive their owners.  There are aged birds willed to the sanctuary, along with funding for their continued care.  Other birds arrive when an owner moves away and can’t take them, but willingly pays for their ongoing care.  However, there are also birds rescued from hoarders, breeding mills and animal cruelty cases.  Some of those birds have special needs.  One is blind.  Some only have a few feathers.  But ALL birds at Project Perry are treated with love, kindness and respect. 

         Project Perry is located on 27 acres.  The aviaries are large, roomy and incredibly clean.  TV host Bob Barker recently donated funding to build a large new aviary specifically for macaws.  The birds are not available for adoption but anyone interested in birds should consider contacting a rescue facility instead of supporting the exotic pet industry.  Keep in mind birds are very noisy, sometimes bite, and may live  for 40 to 50 years after you bring them home. 

         Donations to Project Perry are always welcome, and visitors are welcome by appointment.  The facility is accredited by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries.  Find out more by visiting their website:  www.projectperry.com.

 

Project Perry birds live in natural habitats.

 

Aviaries are large and are located in woodland settings.

 

There is a large variety of parrots, like this rose-breasted cockatoo.

 

 

Birds are very fond of sanctuary founder Matt Smith.

 

The birds sense a bird lover among visitors, pay them a visit, and bend over
to have the back of their heads scratched.
 

Feathers don't always grow back.

 

Birds are curious about some visitors and can't resist checking them out.