Home | Cockatoo Article Library | Message Board | Letters | Rescue | Announcements

HOW LAWSUITS AND WAIVERS WILL HELP

You're looking at damage to a lady's lip after being bitten by a large cockatoo.
This picture was taken some 10 days later, but you can see the bird took off a large chunk. They were worried that the blood flow to the removed portion would not return. Lucky for her, it did. 

Others who have noses or ear pieces removed are not unusual. This is why I stress not having these large birds around children especially. One man has already found out the hard way — a Moluccan had removed his 8 month old daughter's index finger. These "cuddly" creatures can change in a split second, no matter how tame they are or how long you've had them. 

I'm not a lawsuit kind of guy. I think many "accidents" are the fault of the person involved and not someone else. I think we all should take responsibility for our dumb mistakes. Now, having said that, I ALSO think that when the public has been misled and misinformed by a seller of a "product", that seller should be responsible for their actions! You can surf the internet or visit many pet shops and breeders where you will be told that "Cockatoos are the cuddliest of all the parrots and are great birds for the entire family". This is not only an outright lie, but is a statement that will come back to haunt both the seller and the owners of these birds. 

I've walked into many pet stores where the parrots were housed in an open topped display area in the middle of the room. I've seen children torment these poor birds. I've also seen birds bite children (an adults) to the point of bleeding. I know of one owner who's insurance was canceled because he refused to house his birds in a safe area where this type of situation cant happen. This guy knows that unless you can interact with a bird.... then more than likely that bird will sit there forever. The only way pet shops can even sell these birds is to make sure they're young enough that "adult habits" haven't surfaced yet. We all know that even baby lions are cuddly when a few weeks old, but they soon grow up to be a danger don't they? So the odds of selling an adult parrot is no where near the odds of selling a baby. 

REMEMBER, NO MATTER HOW TAME A BIRD IS, IT IS STILL A WILD ANIMAL.

I have received so many letters from people injured by these birds (and other large parrot species) — I've lost count. It's especially sad when a small child is injured to the point of mutilation. Most of these people were duped by the pet store or breeder into believing that "this is a great pet for the entire family". The problem is that often the bird they purchased is a baby, and it will take 2 to 6 years for the problem to surface. By then, the statute of limitations has probably run out. (Check with your attorney on this). But nonetheless, if you or someone in your household is injured by an animal that was sold to you with the express implication that it is the perfect pet for the family, my advice is to SUE THEM FOR ALL THEY HAVE! 

This is the ONLY way we are going to convince these liars that we mean business, and that to misinform us for the almighty dollar will not be tolerated! Think about it: You are not even sold DRY-CLEANING without a warning on every bag that it could be a danger to your child. But they will sell you an animal that can take out a child's eye or finger so fast that you wont know what happened! 

I see a WAIVER being required in the near future. A waiver is a legal instrument that many businesses use to avoid future lawsuits in the event a product or service they're selling proves to be dangerous. If pet shops and breeders were forced to use waivers, then two things would happen: 1) They'd be forced to tell the truth about what might happen by purchasing their birds and the dangers involved and 2) Making this information known, in and of itself, would curtail the market for these birds. (Boy, they'd hate to have to do that!) Keep one thing in mind: A waiver can only be signed by someone of age to make a legally binding contract. This means that once you sign it, YOU are then responsible for any injuries to your children or anyone else. In other words, you have been warned and now the ball is in your court. I hope waivers are soon required. 

In the meantime, if anyone is injured by a bird that a pet shop or breeder has sold them under the guise of being "the perfect pet for the entire family", I will be happy to be an expert witness in the trial. That's just how strongly I feel about this issue.