Cloris Leachman to Retirement Communities: Be Kind to Seniors and Animals

Cloris has sent letters to nearly 300 retirement communities urging the facilities that have caged birds or other captive animals on display to work with PETA to move them to more humane settings. And she’s asking each of the communities to pledge not to keep birds or any other animals caged in the future.

“It is insulting to suggest that retired, elderly individuals can be entertained by watching miserable birds spend their entire lives unable to follow their instincts,” she writes. “Cages deny birds all that is natural and important to them—including room to fly, fresh air, and enough water to bathe in.”

Cloris contends that kind senior citizens like herself would much rather watch wild birds in a natural setting—for example, munching on seeds outdoors, splashing in bird baths, building nests in trees, and flitting from plant to plant in bird-friendly gardens—than see them languishing in tiny cages.

We’ll keep you updated as communities take Cloris’ advice and let birds fly free.