Dame Judi Dench has written to Petco's chief executive asking the retailer to stop selling birds, after PETA released undercover footage from a parakeet breeding facility it says supplies Petco's chain. PETA reports nearly 1,400 birds died at the farm within 27 days; Petco says the breeder has no vendor relationship with the company, now or in the past.
Actress Judi Dench, 91, sent a letter to Petco chief executive Joel Anderson on October 2, 2026, urging the pet-store chain to end the sale of birds, according to a press release published the same day by the animal rights group PETA.
Dench, who owns an African grey parrot named Sweetie, wrote that she found the undercover footage released by PETA distressing and difficult to watch.
What Dench's letter says
In the letter, quoted by PETA, Dench describes birds as intelligent, emotional animals capable of feeling joy, fear, loneliness and excitement, comparing them to dogs, cats and humans. She asked Petco to review PETA's findings and end the sale of birds in its stores.
They feel joy, fear, loneliness, and excitement just like dogs, cats, and humans.
— Judi Dench, in a letter to Petco CEO Joel Anderson, per PETA
What PETA's investigation documented
PETA says its undercover investigation covered Creekside Birds, a parakeet breeding facility it describes as part of Petco's supply chain. According to PETA, around 10,000 parakeets were kept in cramped, filthy cages with no room to fly or carry out natural behaviors, and nearly 1,400 birds died there within 27 days.
PETA's footage, as described in its release and reported by SSBCrack News and by Yahoo News (syndicating First for Women), shows staff allegedly killing sick or injured birds by crushing their necks, slamming them to the ground, or removing their heads instead of providing veterinary care. Workers were also recorded saying they used BB guns on escaped parakeets, and PETA says two birds were left outside in freezing weather after a worker remarked that a cat would deal with them. Yahoo's report adds that PETA's footage showed individual birds with injuries including a lost eye and a wing that deteriorated and eventually fell off.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture cited the facility in May 2026 for unsanitary conditions and gave it a deadline to address them, according to Yahoo News.
Petco disputes a direct link to the breeder
Petco told Yahoo News that Creekside Birds has no vendor relationship with the company, now or in the past, and said its animal care standards are set under veterinary supervision and informed by outside animal-care and ethics experts. PETA, by contrast, says Creekside Birds supplies parakeets through a wholesaler that in turn supplies a Petco supplier, placing the farm within what it calls Petco's broader supply chain.
Competing claims about Petco's link to the breeder
Issue
PETA's position
Petco's position
Supply-chain link
Creekside Birds supplies parakeets via a wholesaler that supplies a Petco supplier
Says it has no, and has never had, a vendor relationship with Creekside Birds
Animal care standards
Cites a USDA citation for unsanitary conditions at the breeder
Says its own standards are set under veterinary supervision and exceed vendor requirements
An ongoing campaign
Dench's letter is part of a wider PETA campaign aimed at Petco's bird sales. PETA says that at Petco's annual shareholder meeting, held on a Tuesday according to a PETA release dated July 2, 2026, the company shut down its question-and-answer session without responding to shareholder questions, including one PETA submitted on behalf of musician Iggy Pop about the company's continued sale of live birds. Petco said the submitted questions did not meet its conduct guidelines for the meeting, but PETA says the company never published those guidelines as promised and has not provided them since.
As of this report, Petco has not announced any change to its policy on selling birds in response to Dench's letter.
Questions
Why is Judi Dench campaigning against Petco?
Dench, who owns an African grey parrot, sent Petco's CEO a letter after viewing PETA's undercover footage from a bird-breeding facility, describing the conditions shown as distressing and urging the company to stop selling birds.
What did PETA's investigation find?
PETA says its investigation of Creekside Birds found about 10,000 parakeets in cramped, filthy cages, nearly 1,400 deaths within 27 days, and staff killing injured birds by hand instead of providing veterinary care.
Does Petco buy birds from Creekside Birds?
Petco told Yahoo News that Creekside Birds has no vendor relationship with the company, now or in the past, while PETA says the breeder supplies birds through a wholesaler that supplies a Petco supplier.
Did the USDA take action against the breeder?
According to Yahoo News, the USDA cited the facility in May 2026 for unsanitary conditions and gave it a deadline to address them.
Has Petco agreed to stop selling birds?
No. As of this report, Petco has not announced any change to its bird-sales policy, and it declined to address related shareholder questions at its July 2026 annual meeting, according to PETA.
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