‘Let Them Fly Free!’ Maria Poonlertlarp’s Plea for Caged Birds Lands on Bangkok’s MRT System

Bangkok — Thai-Swedish model Maria Poonlertlarp appears in a new PETA appeal in Bangkok urging viewers to never buy birds from pet stores—because birds are meant to soar, not suffer in cages. The striking visual plea, which just went up across Bangkok’s MRT system and will run until January 31, shows Poonlertlarp beside a flock of free-flying red-whiskered bulbuls—a sight that’s becoming increasingly rare, as the popular birds have come under threat due to being captured in nature for the pet trade. BMN has teamed up with PETA to promote the message, which is being displayed on over a thousand screens across 38 MRT stations and on 54 trains.

High-resolution images in various sizes can be downloaded here

“Life in a cage is no life at all for birds, who are born to fly and suffer immensely when deprived of their family, friends, and freedom,” says PETA Senior Vice President Jason Baker. “PETA is urging everyone to recognize that birds are thinking, feeling beings, not trinkets, and to steer clear of caged-bird purveyors.”

In nature, birds engage in social activities, such as taking sand baths, playing hide-and-seek, dancing, building nests with their mates, and nurturing their young. But when caged, they become neurotic and self-destructive, pulling out their feathers, repeatedly bobbing their heads, pecking frantically at the bars of cages, and shaking or even collapsing from anxiety. The pet trade breeds birds in filthy facilities or captures them in nature, clips their wings so that they can’t fly away, and sells them to buyers who are often unprepared to provide them with the decades of specialized care that they need—causing many to languish and even die of neglect.

Poonlertlarp is part of a long list of celebrities—including Praya Lundberg, Maggie Q, and Joaquin Phoenix—who have teamed up with PETA entities to promote kindness to animals.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone. For more information, please visit PETAAsia.com or follow PETA Asia on X, Facebook, or Instagram.

#