Points for Critics to Consider

We realize that our technique of using flashing light to achieve behavior modification in parrots is revolutionary and controversial, so we anticipate a lot of initial negativity from the parrot community.  That initial response is expected and commendable because we know that good people care a lot about the welfare of their birds, just like us!

Here are a few points we’d like to make in advance, and of course we welcome your feedback:

 

  1. People are naturally resistant to change and new techniques, so we simply ask you to keep an open mind and recognize that we are bird lovers too!  We’re not here for a quick buck, in fact we currently work for free and every dollar we’ve made so far has been put back into further research and development.   We’re trying to help parrots live in harmony with their owners.
  2. When canine shock collars and citronella colors first came out, they received massive push-back from the dog community and it took years to overcome the negativity.  Now shock collars and more friendly citronella collars can be found in virtually every pet store and are considered by most to be a very humane and effective training device.  Our devices only use flashing light and do not cause physical pain, they merely distract the bird and cause mild discomfort.
  3. Like anything, our device can be misused to cause abuse.  That’s not our purpose of course, that is the choice of the individual pet owner.
  4. We’ve done our research, and as far as we can tell there has never been any conclusive proof that using a flashing light in the manor we suggest will fundamentally harm parrots.  Birds are not generally traumatized by flashing light.  In the wild, they experience flashing lights frequently whenever flying through a canopy of trees (sun coming through holes in the leaves), flying over water (sun reflecting off of waves/ripples in water) or even flying through a city landscape (sun reflecting off of buildings/cars).  We are taking a natural element and using it to teach captive birds not to do certain things, namely squawking for attention.  We never encourage our customers to point the strobe light directly into a bird’s eyes (or even at the bird in general).
  5. We tested out products on our own parrots first, then offered free samples to dozens of product testers in the LA area for 6 months.  None had any negative results and virtually all cases resulted in the bird stopping their attention screaming within just a few days.
  6. There are always exceptions, and sooner or later there will probably be a bird that has a brain or heart condition that will suffer some sort of problem because of our device.  As sad as we’ll be if/when that day ever comes, we have to recognize that the overall benefits of the technique far outweigh the risks.  Some humans have deadly peanut allergies, that doesn’t mean we should outlaw peanuts.   We don’t force our devices on anyone, they are completely voluntary to use and should be used with caution.  At the end of the day it is the pet owner who is responsible for the health and happiness of their bird.
  7. Our goal is not to prove that traditional methods of training parrots don’t work.  They usually do work when the owner has unlimited time, resources and patience to train their bird.  Unfortunately not everyone does, so our devices provide another option (a last resort, if you will) to keep a parrot in a happy home rather than putting it up for adoption.
  8. On that note, putting a bird up for adoption is not the answer.  Thousands of parrots have been euthanized, and we think that’s far worse than a little “distraction” with flashing light.

 

Thank you for your time and consideration.  As always, we welcome your feedback including constructive criticism.  If you would like to learn more about how we came up with this idea in the first place, watch this YouTube video: http://youtu.be/sAClHoHxOc4.

 

Additional Resources:

We welcome additional outside research, either supporting or refuting our Positive Punishment hypothesis or products.