47 exotic birds found neglected, Pierce County man charged with animal cruelty
A Pierce County man is accused of animal cruelty after 47 exotic birds were found severely emaciated and living in filth.
The 66-year-old had to go to the hospital in December 2018 and asked a neighbor to look after his pets.
When the neighbor came to feed the birds and three dogs, she found the animals living in “extremely filthy conditions,” according to charging papers.
The cages, which were spread across multiple rooms on all three floors of the home, were caked with feces. Each had rotting food and “water that looked more like sewage,” records say.
Rats and moth balls were found inside the home, and in one case, a rat was found dead with his head stuck inside the wire of a bird cage.
Animal control officers seized all 47 birds, noting the cold temperatures inside the house and that several birds were shivering.
In one room where the birds were kept, temperatures were recorded at 41 degrees.
Within a day of being rescued, four exotic birds died.
Necropsies showed all four suffered from starvation, records say. There were allegedly no signs of disease or anything else that might have killed the birds.
On Monday, prosecutors charged the man with four counts of first-degree animal cruelty.
He is scheduled to be arraigned Feb. 12.
This story was originally published January 28, 2020 at 9:04 AM.
