Mark it off on your calendars, reschedule your appointments and get ready to kick the new year off the only way it should be – with National Bird Day!

What is National Bird Day?

Taken from http://www.nationalbirdday.com/index.php

“Born Free USA in coordination with the Avian Welfare Coalition (AWC) is calling on activists around the U.S. to take action on behalf of captive birds by drawing attention to the exploitation of other countries' native birds by the U.S. pet industry on January 5 — National Bird Day.

"National Bird Day" is not only a good day to take time to appreciate the native wild birds flying free outside our windows, it is also a perfect time to reflect on how we treat the native birds of other countries. While we have enacted laws to protect our native birds — such as blue jays, cardinals, and crows — from commercial exploitation, we fail to recognize the inconsistency in allowing the pet industry to exploit the birds of other countries.”

When is National Bird Day?

January 5th, 2010.

What can I do to support and promote National Bird Day?

At the very least, take a moment to acknowledge and realize that every bird you see for sale in a pet store has involuntarily joined the ranks of the 20-40 million captive birds already living in this country.  Reflect upon the average lifespan of most of the larger birds that can live to be the same age as a human or longer and realize that the vast majority will outlive their current owners and end up among the homeless population of pets already living in this country as well.

If you would like more information on other ways to get involved, visit http://www.nationalbirdday.com/b_get_involved.php for tips, advice and suggestions.