Volume: 49 Issue: 2
Year: 2018, Page: 17-23,
Received: April 24, 2017 Accepted: Aug. 14, 2017 Published: July 1, 2018
A systematic study was undertaken in the socio economic profile of pet bird owners in Thrissur District of Kerala. A detailed questionnaire was prepared and data collected from 35 aviculturists to operationalise the study. Profile of owners such as age, gender, educational status, occupational status, marital status, social participation, years of experience in rearing pet birds, flock size and information utilization were analysed. Most of the pet bird owners were on the age groups of 31 and 40 years. Contribution of women was very less in this field. Most of the bird rearers were below graduates and reared pet birds as an auxiliary occupation. They registered their birds with different organizations. Family members have a great role in the management of pet birds with more than 10 years of experience. Majority of the owners collected information from internet. Very few pet owners attended trainings. Specialty pet services have been the fastest growing segment in the industry. This segment will continue to grow as more pet owners consider birds to be valued as members of their families. Overall, the industry has continued to expand and is considered to be in the growth stage of its life cycle.For many pet owners, their pets also facilitated relationships from which they derived tangible forms of social support, both of a practical and emotionally supportive nature. Given growing evidence for social isolation as a risk factor for mental health and conversely, friendships and social support as protective factors for individual and community well-being, pets may be an important factor in developing healthy neighbourhoods.
Keywords: Socio economic profile, pet bird owners-identification of constraints, remedial strategies
Allen, K., Shykoff, B. and Izzo, J. 2001. Pet ownership, but not ace inhibitor therapy, blunts home blood pressure responses to mental stress. Hypertension 38: 815–820. PMID: 11641292
Caughy, M., Campo, P. and Muntaner, C. 2003. When being alone might be better: neighbourhood poverty, social capital and child mental health. Social Science and Medicine 57: 227–237. PMID: 12765704
Center for Food Security and Public Health. 2009. Avian chlamydiosis. http://www.cfsph. iastate.edu/Factsheets/pdfs/chlamydiosis avian.pdf.
Garrity, T. and Stallones, L. 1998. Effects of pet contact on human well-being. In: Wilson CC, Turner DC, editors. Companion Animals in Human Health. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications, Inc. pp. 3–22.
Headey, B. and Grabka, M.M. 2007. Pets and human health in Germany and Australia: National longitudinal results. Social Indicators Research 80: 297–311.
Lisa Wood, Karen Martin, Hayley Christian, Andrea Nathan, Claire Lauritsen, Steve Houghton, Ichiro Kawachi, Sandra McCune. 2015. The Pet Factor - Companion animals as a conduit for getting to know people, friendship formation and social support. Pets as a conduit for social interaction and social support (PLOS). DOI:10.1371/ journal.pone.0122085 April 29, pp:1 – 17
McKechnie, A.E. 2008. Phenotypic flexinility in basal metabolic rate and the changing view of avian physiological diversity: a review. Journal of Comparative Physiology. 178(3): 235-247.
McNicholas, J. and Collis, G. 2006. Animals as Social Supports: Insights for Understanding Animal-Assisted Therapy. In: Fine AH, editor. Handbook on Animal-Assisted Therapy: Theoretical Foundations and Guidelines for Practice. pp. 49–71.
NASPHV. 2010. Compendium of Measures to Control Chlamydophila psittaci Infection Among Humans (Psittacosis) and Pet Birds (Avian Chlamydiosis), 2010. National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians. http://www.nasphv.org/ Documents/ Psittacosis.pdf.
Portes, A. and Landolt, P. 1996. The Downside of Social Capital. The American Prospect 26: 18–21. Pets as a Conduit for Social Interaction and Social Support (PLOS)
Smeagal, L. and Faye. 2008. Pet bird care: Common diseases and illnesses affecting pet birds. Veterinary Record. Helium.com. http://www.helium.com. Accessed 25 March 2008.
Stull, J. W., Peregrine, A. S., Sargeant, J. M. and Weese, J. S. 2012. Household knowledge, attitudes and practices related to pet contact and associated zoonoses inOntario, Canada. BMC Public Health 12, 553.
Vivian Lindmayer Ferreira, Marcos Vincius Silva, Rodrigo Delfino Nascimento and TaniaFreitas Raso. 2015. Psittacosis associated with pet bird ownership:a concern for public health. JMM Case Reports. pp:1-5
Walljasper, J. 2007. The Great Neighborhood Book: New Society. Wells, D.L. 2007. Domestic dogs and human health: An overview. British journal of health psychology 12: 145–156. PMID: 17288671
Wissman, M.A. 2008. Top ten bird killers. ExoticPetVet.net. http://www.exoticpetvet. net.
© 2018 Sreeshma et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.