Turns out ex-brothel madam Heidi Fleiss has about 20 macaws and is going to be featured in the crazily titled new Animal Planet special, Heidi Fleiss: Prostitutes to Parrots.  She inherited, for lack of a better word, the birds from the woman who used to run the exotic bird department at the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas.

Heidi has a decidedly negative view of keeping parrots as pets – probably because she has encountered the worst of the worse – birds that hadn’t seen sunlight in 14 years is one example she gives.  I do think her belief that they should go extinct is just hyperbole – mainly because she sees deforestation destroying their natural habitat and the only other option (captivity) isn’t a life for these birds.  While I agree that there are many cases of birds stuck in garages and other horrible life circumstances, I think there are plenty of people who have domestically raised parrots who give them good lives with plenty of sunshine and freedom.

You can read more about the series here http://www.tvguide.com/News/Exclusive-Heidi-Fleiss-1035860.aspx