ABSOLUTELY DITTO ON THAT, kashmir64 . Cage birds as well. Huge numbers die so that some people can have a bird in a cage in a room. How diabolically cruel, IMHO! We have huge flocks of conures all over CA. They are descendants and survivors of the cage bird trade. Same with the fish, especially the bettas. I started my goldfish experience when someone was going to "flush" one. The manager had it down in the basement in a plastic bowl filled with tap water. I spent a fortune on that little guy, got him friends ("feeder" fish from the "pet" store) and none of them survived. Then there was the cichlid that someone was also going to flush. I took him. My folks had a pretty large aquarium with ornamental goldfish at the time. I asked if they'd take Sebastian. They said yes. I didn't know a thing about cichlids. If you do, then you know what happened. Sebastian eventually grew to be about 6" long and he had a glass between him and the surviving goldfish. He lived quite awhile, all alone, ramming his head against the glass in a futile attempt to get at the goldfish, who were probably terrified of him.I'm with you on most animals. However, most people don't realize that almost all aquarium fish are wild caught. One reason I get so angry when I see a Betta in a little viewing dish. Or Goldfish in a bowl. I wish people would just do research and learn to take care of them properly.
Never again, for me, on fish. They're beautiful. But they don't belong in these artificial environments IMHO, just so humans can admire them.