Stillwater avian adoption organization helps birds across the globe

Sun ConureSTILLWATER — Birds of a feather are rescued together at the Midwest Avian Adoption & Rescue Services (MAARS) organization in Stillwater.

MAARS is the largest organization of its kind in the Midwest, and offers services such as bird surrender, rescue, sanctuary placement and adoption as well as education and consultation for bird caretakers and avian enthusiasts.

In the last 10 years, MA-ARS has rescued 1,400 un-wanted parrots and pla-ced more than 1,000 birds in-to new homes and permanent sanctuaries around the Midwest. Those numbers represent a small amount of the total unwanted and unplaceable captive parrots and other birds in the U.S. at this time, according to MAARS CEO and founder Eileen McCarthy.

“I've always been an animal advocate,” said McCarthy. “I saw a need that very few others were working on, and I decided to help.”

McCarthy, 44, grew up in New York City where her family had two parakeets. While in her 20's, she worked for the New York Public Television station before Manhattan's high cost of living led her to explore Minneapolis.

After moving to the Twin Cities, she got a cockatiel and joined a local bird club that met monthly in Minneapolis. In 1997, she joined the club's small adoption board, which was already overwhelmed with requests for help.

“The club rescued all kinds of birds,” McCarthy explained. “But the need became so great that it was more than the club could handle.”

In July 1999, she founded MAARS to help rescue exotic and indigenous birds whose caretakers could no longer provide for them due to illness, death or other life-changes.

At first, volunteers provided foster services to birds in their homes. In 2000 the need for more space inspired McCarthy to move operations into a Stillwater facility where she and her staff care for upwards of 150 birds at a time. Many of their birds come from humane societies which do not have facilities to care for the birds. However, people from all across the Midwest also travel to MAARS to surrender or adopt birds to/from the Stillwater facility.

Since its inception, MAARS has remained a no-kill, non-profit organization that relies on adoption fees and donations for funding. MAARS operates on an annual budget of $100,000 a year. Daily costs of caring for each bird are $1 to $2 per day, which has translated into up to $278 per day for MAARS.

“We have 139 birds right now and a waiting list with over 100 birds on it,” McCarthy explained.

The organization offers an annual membership program, with “supporting flock” membership levels ranging from “friend” (with a $25 donation) to “founder” (with a $7,500 donation).

MAARS is an all-volunteer organization. It employs one full-time and two part-time employees, otherwise relying on its dozens of volunteers. All volunteers must attend MAARS' training classes before working with the animals.

Most of MAARS's on-site veterinarian technicians and veterinarians are volunteers as wel, and must hold the appropriate certification. MAARS works closely with the University of Minnesota's College of Veterinary Medicine and Raptor Center.

Educating bird caretakers on proper bird care remains an important part of MAARS' mission. McCarthy explained that education helps people provide nurturing homes for birds already in captivity. “When we adopt out, we make sure everyone is set up to succeed,” she said. “We work hard to find the right placement for both the bird and for the family.” The organization also performs follow up home visits after all adoptions, to further help ensure the adoption is a good fit.

“It's challenging; we're working with people to raising awareness that parrots are wild animals,” she explained. ”Parrots have not yet been domesticated through breeding like dogs and cats.”

MAARS operates under the direction of dozens of avian experts who serve on a board of directors, an executive committee, a placement committee, and an advisory board. All members have extensive experience working with exotic and indigenous birds.

MAARS also works with many other aviation wellness organization, such as the Fargo, N.D.-based Center for Avian Adoption, Rescue and Education, the Lino Lakes-based Parrot Adoption Education Program and, most recently, the World Society for the Protection of Animals. MAARS also helped found the Avian Welfare Coalition, a coalition of animal protection organizations, rescue groups, veterinarians, and conservation organizations.

At the end of May, McCarthy will fly to Brazil to work with WSPA at a Brazilian bird sanctuary that’s taking in parrots confiscated from smugglers.

“The demand for parrots as pets in the U.S. puts a price on every parrot’s head in the wild,” McCarthy said. “It's profitable for impoverished people in countries where parrots live. If someone gets $5 a bird, they're not worried about whether species are going extinct.”

McCarthy feels that her work is challenging, yet worth doing.

“It's rewarding, when we work with a bird that comes in really traumatized, and watch that bird turn around and become well adjusted,” McCarthy said. “When we find that the bird is really happy in a new home, that's a great feeling. Whether it's at our facility or a home, when we've improved the quality of a bird's life, that's rewarding.”

MAARS eventually plans to move into a recently purchased facility in St. Paul. Located on East 7th and Payne, the building will house a greater number of birds and offer the option of outdoor space. MAARS plans to continue all of its rescue, adoption and placement services from the new location with the hopes of also increasing educational offerings for the Twin Cities community.

For more information, visit www. maars.org.