Dame Judi Dench Calls on Petco to End Bird Sales After PETA Exposes Breeding Factory Horrors

For Immediate Release:
October 2, 2026

Contact:
Hannah Nelson 202-483-7382

She’s played queens, spymasters, and Shakespearean heroines—but one of the roles closest to Dame Judi Dench’s heart is guardian to a beloved African grey parrot named Sweetie. So today, the Academy Award winner sent an urgent letter to Petco CEO Joel Anderson, calling on the retailer to stop selling birds after viewing damning undercover PETA investigative footage of Creekside Birds—a parakeet breeder in Petco’s supply chain—where staff were recorded killing sick and injured birds by crushing their necks, slamming them to the ground, and ripping off their heads.

In the letter, Dench writes that it was “so difficult to watch” the “heartbreaking” footage captured inside Creekside Birds, where approximately 10,000 parakeets were crammed into tiny, filthy cages—and nearly 1,400 birds were found dead in just 27 days. Sick and injured birds were left to suffer without veterinary care, and a co-owner and worker told PETA’s investigator that they use a BB gun to shoot and kill parakeets who escape cages and are not captured. When two birds escaped outdoors, a worker said, “The cat will take care of them,” and left them to die in the freezing cold.

“Anyone who has ever shared their home with a bird knows they are curious, emotional, intelligent individuals with their own personalities and preferences. They feel joy, fear, loneliness, and excitement just like dogs, cats, and humans,” writes Dench. “Please, take a hard look at what PETA uncovered and end the sale of birds in your stores to prevent future suffering for birds.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—points out that when it comes to the ability to feel pain, hunger, and thirst, a parakeet is a dog is a boy. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.

Dench’s letter to Anderson follows.

October 2, 2026

Dear Mr. Anderson,

PETA shared its latest investigation into the bird trade with me, and the footage was heartbreaking.

I live with a bird named Sweetie who I love just like family. Anyone who has ever shared their home with a bird knows they are curious, emotional, intelligent individuals with their own personalities and preferences. They feel joy, fear, loneliness, and excitement just like dogs, cats, and humans.

That’s why it was so difficult to watch PETA’s investigation exposing a mass breeding factory in Petco’s supply chain. The footage revealed that thousands of parakeets were confined to cramped, filthy cages with no opportunity to fly, explore, or engage in the natural behaviours that make them who they are. Some birds suffered severe injuries, including a bird who had lost an eye and a chick whose wing had shrivelled, blackened, and fallen off.

Perhaps most shocking of all: Instead of providing veterinary care to sick or injured parakeets in need of aid, an owner and worker killed them by hand, including by crushing their necks, slamming them to the ground, or ripping off their heads. No one confirmed the birds were dead, and some languished in misery before dying.

Please, take a hard look at what PETA uncovered and end the sale of birds in your stores to prevent future suffering for birds.

Sincerely,

Dame Judi Dench