Abstract
I hope that you will all join me in a pledge to support aviculture, support others who keep birds, whether as pets, fosters, breeders, or for whatever reason they share their lives with birds.
Support Aviculture with your words; turn your words into actions. When you read or hear disparaging remarks about breeders, speak up! Simply remind people that without breeders there would be no birds in our homes. This is a true statement, especially in the United States where parrots can no longer be imported. Without breeders there would be no birds in our homes; without breeding we will have no birds in the future.
Support others who love birds. Offer advice when questions are asked, offer condolences when birds are lost. It is not necessary to verbally attack or criticize people who have made a mistake with their birds. When people are attacked for asking a question they are not likely to ever ask another; and if people do not ask questions we have lost an opportunity to educate them and we have lost an opportunity to improve the life of a bird. It may be that we have lost an opportunity to help someone save a bird.
Support Aviculture by supporting AFA. AFA supports aviculture; AFA needs your support too. Renewing your membership at one of the supporting levels will help AFA to better support the members and their birds. Supporting memberships are $75 - $500 a year and renewing at one of those levels sends a clear message that you believe in AFA and in the AFA mission of education, conservation and legislative awareness.
Support the people that support AFA. Our AFA commercial members, the advertisers in the AFA Watchbird, the AFA corporate sponsors, they believe in a future with birds. They are helping us to keep birds in our lives. When you buy, buy from an AFA commercial business.
Talk to people about birds. Let people know that birds are awesome. There are 19 million homes in the US without birds and each one of us knows some of them. If a bird would fit into the family, or enrich the lives of a friend, talk to them about keeping a bird.
Talk to people about AFA. Encourage your friends and associates to join the AFA. There are almost 4 million homes in the US with birds. If only 10 percent of those bird owners were...