About us

Let the Birds Fly Free is a registered charity, which was started with the aim to improve the quality of life of caged birds. We find homes for unfortunate birds and we encourage aviaries so birds can fly free.

Why We Started

Kaye Parsons (founder and president) was one day asked if she would like to take in a sulphur-crested cockatoo. After hearing the history of Sammy's upbringing Kaye was quite happy to take him in. Sammy's story begins when he was hand-raised as a chick with a family.

As he grew he was able to roam the house freely and do as he pleased, but as his natural instincts started to mature he began to bite and chew at the furniture and he was also quite proud of showing the family how well he could squawk.

Very soon Sammy found himself separated from the family he once knew and placed in a small steel cage only one cubic meter. In his new isolation Sammy's life started to take a downward turn. Fretting anxiously for the attention he once had so plentifully, Sammy started to squawk loudly at the sight and sound of any family member. But his desperate calls to his family were only answered with aggression. Sammy was now getting beaten and his cage moved further away. Frightened of his family and with no body with whom to interact, Sammy started to feather pick. This self-destructive behavior is a sign of depression in intelligent birds.

After five years in this environment Sammy was spotted by a relative of the family. Concerned for his well-being, she took Sammy home and cared for him. With his new connection Sammy stopped his feather picking and in time his feathers grew back. As Sammy recovered, his story caught the attention of well-known animal lover, Kaye Parsons. After being asked to take Sammy, Kaye took him to be checked by Dr Perry, an exceptional bird vet. During this visit the traumatic five year history of Sammy's life was discovered. Sammy will never be able to fly. His wings are deformed due to possible bone fractures and being unable to stretch his wings in his tiny cage. He has also suffered as a result of an inappropriate diet given to him in his early years.

Later Kaye started to think about other birds living in similar conditions. Over the past three years of searching for isolated, forgotten and mistreated birds, Kaye started to meet people that had the same passion as she did. Sammy, now living in a large aviary, is able to dig in wood chips for bugs, flap and stretch his wings and walk around and chew at the garden when someone is home.

His squawks are no longer punished. But Sammy's wings will always bear the scars of a once lonely and miserable existence.