Angus in happier times

If you are unfamiliar with Angus’ story, please read this article, watch the video and sign the petition. Many more signatures are needed.

I want you all to know the HUGE difference that BirdTricksStore.com readers made by signing the petition to bring Angus home safely. I was absolutely reduced to tears when I saw the outpouring of love you showed for this one abused bird, halfway around the world to some. The overwhelming number of people from this forum who added their signature to the petition and voiced their concerns for Angus’ welfare speaks volumes about all of you as human beings and shows the worth of this community. I thank every one of you. You continually restore my faith in humanity.

Some people don’t understand the value of signing a petition. They see it as an insignificant contribution to a matter that calls for action instead of words. That is just not the case. The beauty of a petition is that it documents and tallies the names and comments of real people who want their opinions heard. With sheer numbers, an issue that has been left simmering on a back burner can suddenly find the heat has been turned up. Typically, when the pressure of being held accountable is applied, people will spring into action. It doesn’t matter if results come about in an attack of good conscience, or the knowledge that people will point a finger at you if things go badly. The outcome is all that is important.

Angus on the wipers

I also want to point out that it is very easy to view the RSPCA as a group of callous individuals who find it easy to look away from the plight of a single parrot in a bad situation. But like so many animal welfare organizations, financial resources are limited, and there are any number of animal abuse cases that need investigation. From their point of view, why is Angus more important than the abused collie on the other side of town? Ideally, we want every animal to be saved, but that is unrealistic.

Because so many of you took the time to sign the petition, the RSPCA is unable to look past your outrage and your demand that the matter be resolved. It becomes clearer to them that their resources are well spent on this one suffering parrot.  I can tell you that the RSPCA was even surprised by the global response to this story.

Angus before and after

I know many of you are waiting for an update. The RSPCA released this statement on 4/28/11:

We understand and share your concern for the welfare of Angus. We have continued to investigate this case however we cannot share details of cruelty investigations in a public forum without jeopardizing possible outcomes.
We received the petition and our CEO has responded to the organizers of the petition. In part the petition asked RSPCA to act on the issue of ownership of Angus but as we have explained previously we do not have authority to act on those matters.

RSPCA will share further details of the investigation when we are in a position to do this and not impact the case. We do feel very encouraged that the community has such a strong concern for animal welfare.

What this means is that the RSPCA is moving forward. Their lack of the disclosure of information does not indicate passivity in this case. There are legalities to abide by and straying from them could be the difference between prosecution and a slap on the wrist for Lawther.

At this point, no one, including Carrie Chatters, Angus’ rightful owner, is concerning themselves with ownership issues. The only thing that matters is Angus’ immediate safety. The people responsible for the petition, and other involved organizations, remain actively engaged, EVERYDAY, to see that this matter is brought to a happy conclusion.

You can log onto Angus’ Facebook page for more information as it becomes available, and I will post updates as they are allowed. If you have not already done so, please sign the petition now. We need those 10,000 signatures.