PETA Seeks Freedom For Broadmead's Finches

Should a group of birds be kept as pets for the elderly in a cage or be allowed to fly free? 

That's the question that one animal rights group is asking about finches kept in what they call a "small, stagnant box" at a Cockeysville elder-care facility.

The California-based People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has posted a so-called "action alert" to its website against Cockeysville's Broadmead encouraging readers to send a letter to the elder-care facility's Associate CEO Thomas Mondloch to "do the right thing for [the] boxed birds."

"While the birds are presumably kept for residents' enjoyment, most residents have no interest in viewing them. In fact, deep concerns for the birds' poor quality of life are a source of great sadness for some at Broadmead," according to a statement on PETA's website. 

That's the first of many statements with which Mondloch, Broadmead's Associate CEO, takes issue. 

"[The birds] are loved by our residents," Mondloch said. "They are in our skilled nursing area, so we have our most limited population of people. It’s been a very popular form of activity for our residents."

PETA senior researcher Dan Paden said that it was a Broadmead resident who first contacted his group about the way the birds were being kept. 

"We were contacted by a resident at the community who has become very frustrated by the conditions these birds are kept in and Broadmead’s refusal to improve conditions for the birds, even at its own residents' requests," Paden said.

A group of eight finches is being kept in a box that occupies two-by-four feet of floor space, Paden said. The birds, which are owned and maintained by Pennsylvania-based Robin's Nest Aviaries, Inc., are given new seed and have their habitat cleaned once every two months, according to PETA.

Again, Broadmead's Mondloch disagrees. 

In a phone call Tuesday afternoon, the associate CEO explained that the birds are being taken care of—that is fed, watered and cleaned up after—by staff at Broadmead and that Robin's Nest Aviaries visits weekly to do a more thorough cleaning of the aviary and check on the health of the birds. 

"We've had these seven—give or take—finches, over the past 15 years or so," Mondloch said. "The conditions are no different now then they were then. They are very small birds that are in a glass case that is about 5 feet in width, 3 feet deep, and 5 feet high."

A representative for Robin's Nest Aviaries declined comment.

"The space is appropriate for four birds, by the guidelines Broadmead is trying to meet," he said.

The guidelines Paden points to are established by the Eden Alternative, a nationally recognized non-profit that works in elder care.

"[The Eden Alternative has] published for years animal welfare guidelines that are very well advised and recognize the role that animals can play in the lives of elderly people but are adamant that it not come at the expense of the lives and enjoyment of the animals," Paden said. "In trying to explain and defend this bird box, they have touted it is supported by the Eden Alternative."

A news release from PETA says that in early May, Broadmead's Mondloch told the group that "Broadmead would implement 'ASAP'" the Eden Alternatives guidlines.

Paden said that to his knowledge no action had yet been taken.

"I think it’s telling that this retirement community has ignored the pleas of its own residents for so long that a national organization has come in to make the birds case when this organization has let pleas fall on deaf ears for so long," he said.  

Mondloch said that in conversations with the animal rights group he said he would "obtain and review" a copy of the Eden Alternatives guidelines which, he noted, are not regulatory standards. 

"I [said I] would review [the guidlines] and that we would consider whether or not it was reasonable for us to comply with them," Mondloch said. "I expressed an openness … we subsequently have reviewed them and are preparing a response to PETA about those standards."  

In the meantime, Mondloch said that Broadmead has reduced the population of birds to seven, which he notes is close to compliance with the Eden Alternative guidelines. 

"There was a point in time when we had as many as 10 finches," Mondloch said. "The number as of today is seven. We might be considering further reducing the number and a part of that is to more closely comply with the Eden standards."

Mondloch said that looking at the aviary now it was hard to imagine that the birds, which he said are close to the size of an egg, are experiencing crowded conditions. 

"This is a pretty substantially large aviary," he said. "We have stood by our program and feel it’s a good thing for our residents. We believe the conditions the birds are living in are suitable for small birds to thrive—which they do under our care and the care of the Robin’s Nest group."