12th October 2019

The peregrine falcon is known by many as the ‘wanderer’. True to this name, they can fly over 100 miles per day. Tragically, many peregrine falcons are held in bird of prey zoos and will never get to experience this incredible flight. Those that are flown in flying displays, fly for mere minutes at a time, to entertain the paying public.

Today is World Bird Migratory Day, a biannual campaign that aims to highlight the need for conservation of migratory birds. This years event is focusing on how birds connect our world.

As birds fly from country to country to winter in warmer climates or to return to breeding grounds, they truly do connect our world. Yet tragically, birds held in captivity are denied the freedom to perform these natural migrations.

At Freedom for Animals, we are once again using this day to highlight the cruelty of keeping birds of prey captive. Many birds of prey that we see in zoos locked in cages or tied down by the leg, would naturally migrate. 

Some birds will migrate short distances, some long. Whatever the distance this is an instinct and a right that too many birds are being denied when kept in captivity. 

It is not just exercise birds gain from flying, it is stimulation, freedom and wisdom. Denying this from such an animal is cruel and unnecessary. 

Many eagles are tethered in bird of prey zoos. In the wild golden eagles can travel thousands of miles to reach their wintering grounds and bald eagles can travel between 75 and 125 miles in a day. In a zoo they are lucky to fly for minutes a day.

The long-eared owl is known to travel from the UK as far as Germany, this shows the instincts that many of these captive birds will hold. 

For many of these birds a zoo is often a very stressful and highly unnatural environment to be placed in. Not only are these birds many miles from home and often in a strange climate, they are denied their basic instincts. This is not right, and we must help to end this now.

Thousands of birds are forced to endure a miserable existence in bird of prey zoos in the UK including owls, eagles, falcons and many more species. These birds are often kept tethered, purely for entertainment - this is no life for a wild bird. 

Tethering of birds must end now! Join us this World Migratory Bird Day and take action to end the tethering of birds in zoos:

TAKE ACTION!

CONTACT DEFRA TO BAN TETHERING

Make a donation to help birds fly free!

Join us on social media too, to share our campaign actions and facts about birds: 

www.facebook.com/freedomforanimals

www.twitter.com/freeanimalsuk

Thank you!