Many people know about the overpopulation in dogs and cats, but did you know it also exists with birds? Millions of birds are in shelters nationwide, and each bird purchased from Petsmart is one less home from a shelter bird. People buy these complex animals on a whim, without realizing the 8(finch) to70 (parrot) year commitment it entails. As a result, birds are stuffed neglected in tiny cages, or shuffled from home to home.

The company's trade in live birds also supports a mass-breeding industry just as cruel as—and less regulated than—the puppy mill industry; results in abysmal treatment of tiny, vulnerable beings; and ultimately leads to their overpopulation, homelessness, neglect, and suffering.

In a world where millions of birds are euthanized for lack of suitable homes, abandoned, neglected, and abused, no company that claims to care about animals would contribute to their suffering by breeding and selling them.

These birds may be small, but they suffer and feel pain just as dogs and cats do. Please do the responsible thing, as you have done for dogs and cats: Put an immediate end to the sale of live animals. I will not be shopping at PetSmart until live-bird sales are a thing of the past, and I am telling all my friends and family members to do the same.