Bird tale not a happy one

By The Daily Progress

Published: July 29, 2008

It’s a heartbreaking story.

Thirty-one macaws seized in an animal cruelty case in Orange County have gone back to their owners.

Granted, the owners must take them to an organization in Florida called Luv Them Birds, which has promised to take care of them.
But the birds might have received even better care had a Louisa County facility been allowed to keep them and/or rehabilitate them for adoption.

It gets worse.

Under the court’s decision, charges against the owners will be dropped and they will regain custody of the birds if they pay the veterinary fees incurred in caring for them
after their seizure two months ago.

Authorities said the birds were found outdoors under tarps, in rusted-shut cages, with mounds of droppings beneath them.
“They all had something going on when they were brought here,” said veterinarian Hillary Cook, “and they have shown definite improvement” under care. Vet costs were $20,000.

There’s more.

The Central Virginia Parrot Sanctuary, which housed the birds and worked to rehabilitate them socially, will not see a penny. No money was ordered to be provided to those who took the birds in when they were rescued.

And even that’s not all.

Volunteers who worked with the birds are heartbroken.
Birds with the best chances of being rehabilitated for adoption were fostered out to volunteers’ homes. Now the volunteers must give the birds back, knowing that they will end up either in a group facility or with the original owners.
One volunteer, who had brought his foster macaw from isolation and depression into security and affection, says he feels he is betraying her by giving her up. Efforts to buy the bird from the owner were unsuccessful.

This is the risk that animal volunteers take, whether it’s playing with the cats at the SPCA or taking animals into your own home to care for them. There is always the possibility of an animal going to permanent owner someday.
And when an animal is taken in an animal cruelty case, the stakes are higher. There is no guarantee of a happy ending.

That there was no better ending in this story is due partly to Virginia law. Birds are considered mere property, and do not come under the higher standards set up for pets.
“There are laws that limit the number of dogs but [none] that restrict how many birds you can have and no regulations on breeding,” said Matt Smith of the Parrot Sanctuary.
That must change.