What about euthanasia?

There are sharply divided opinions about euthanasia and I’ve grouped them into 3 categories that I’ve encountered.

1. Euthanizing an animal is fine if they are sick, annoying, or you just want to try out a different pet

2. Euthanasia is a final option if all medical options are exhausted and the bird is on the edge of death (this is typical in humans)

3. Euthanasia should be applied to animals that are suffering and there are no available options to alleviate it other than a lifetime of painkillers

There is also the added issue of financial burden. Categories 2 and 3 are evaluated differently if medical options are unaffordable.

With a blog called Free Range Parrots, I predictably believe in the third option. Part of being free is being free from unending suffering. How do you tell if your bird is suffering?

• It’s not playing or singing or chirping much

• It’s fairly inactive

• It acts much better after giving a painkiller, indicating they are in considerable pain

• Sometimes you can just intuit it by looking…