Last Updated: Thursday February 23 2006 15:41 GMT
http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_4740000/newsid_4744000/4744042.stm
Kids warned not to dump pet birds
A parrot expert is warning people not to dump their pet birds over fears about bird flu.
The National Parrot Sanctuary in Lincolnshire recently found 23 parrots and an owl abandoned outside their gates.
The shocked birds were left in the freezing cold overnight, and three are now ill with frostbite.
Sanctuary founder Steven Nichols told Newsround people should remember pet birds won't catch flu if kept indoors.
Click here for your bird flu questions answered
The Sanctuary only usually finds one or two birds dumped a year.
It's thought the huge increase in abandoned birds could be because people think their bird might be carrying the disease.
Shocked
Mr Nichols asked anyone thinking about abandoning their pet to give him a call before they do it.
He said: "These parrots have had a warm house, loving family and even if they spend just one night in the freezing cold darkness they just go into shock."
He added: "Don't use bird flu as an excuse for getting rid of your bird." But he said if people really didn't want their birds, he'd always take them in.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_4740000/newsid_4744000/4744042.stm
Kids warned not to dump pet birds
A parrot expert is warning people not to dump their pet birds over fears about bird flu.
The National Parrot Sanctuary in Lincolnshire recently found 23 parrots and an owl abandoned outside their gates.
The shocked birds were left in the freezing cold overnight, and three are now ill with frostbite.
Sanctuary founder Steven Nichols told Newsround people should remember pet birds won't catch flu if kept indoors.
Click here for your bird flu questions answered
The Sanctuary only usually finds one or two birds dumped a year.
It's thought the huge increase in abandoned birds could be because people think their bird might be carrying the disease.
Shocked
Mr Nichols asked anyone thinking about abandoning their pet to give him a call before they do it.
He said: "These parrots have had a warm house, loving family and even if they spend just one night in the freezing cold darkness they just go into shock."
He added: "Don't use bird flu as an excuse for getting rid of your bird." But he said if people really didn't want their birds, he'd always take them in.