PUEBLO, Colo.—Dozens of exotic birds are being nursed to health after animal control officers found them malnourished in a condemned home without heat.
Authorities went to the house Tuesday after neighbors said they believed about five exotic birds were living in a condemned home belonging to an elderly man. Instead, officials found 45 macaw parrots, about 150 pigeons and some dogs and cats. The house had no heat or water.
By the time officials went back the next day, two of the macaws had died. Officials say the elderly owner was feeding them dog food to try to keep them alive.
“It’s really a sad, sad situation,” said Donna Straub, director of the Pueblo Community Animal Shelter. “This was an elderly man who had all of these tropical birds in a house with no heat and no water. The health department had condemned the home.”
The 43 surviving macaws were seized Wednesday and taken to a veterinarian. The pigeons and the cats and dogs remain on the man’s property, with officials bringing them food and water.
“We’re feeding and watering the other animals, but our primary concern were the tropical birds because the house did not have heat,” Straub told The Pueblo Chieftain.
The homeowner hasn’t been named or charged with a crime.
“We don’t want to condemn this man. I don’t think there was intentional cruelty at all, but we had to get a warrant to save these animals,” Straub said.
The Gabriel Foundation, an exotic bird sanctuary in Elizabeth, helped remove the macaws and is caring for them.
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Information from: The Pueblo Chieftain,
