10/06/2024
The History of Parrots as Pets
Parrots are some of the most beautiful and unique animals that we keep as pets. So, when did aviculture of psittacine (parrot) species begin?
The first record of pet parrots dates from about 5,000 years ago in Brazil – unsurprisingly, as South America is home to a wide diversity of psittacine species! Over the past several thousand years, the ownership of pet parrots spread from South America and the Pacific islands to India, Egypt, and China. Parrots were first introduced to Europe in 327 BCE, when Alexander the Great brought ringneck and Alexandrine parrots from India back to Greece. The fall of the Roman Empire led to a decline in the popularity of pet parrots, and they were rare until Christopher Columbus brought two Cuban Amazon parrots back to Spain. Pet parrots had a meteoric rise in popularity throughout the world during the 18th century; even Martha Washington, the first First Lady of the United States, was a known parrot lover!
Unfortunately, parrots were taken from the wild to fulfill the demands of the pet trade, and some species are now threatened with extinction. Thankfully, many countries have since placed restrictions or bans on the importation of parrots. Many of the protections for wild populations of parrots (and other endangered animals) are upheld by CITES, the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Wildlife Fauna and Flora, which was founded in 1975. Over the past 5,000 years of parrot keeping, our knowledge of these amazing animals has greatly expanded. Aviculturists are now successfully breeding many psittacine species in captivity. These aviculturists are sustainably and safely helping to meet the demand for these special pets.
aav.org/blogpost/1787676/501762/The-History-of-Parrots-as-Pets
