** URGENT ** Pigeon Disaster In So. Cal!

[TAWhatley]

Hi All,

I've been MIA trying to deal with a real disaster for some 200 pigeons here in Southern California yesterday and today.

A fellow by the name of Red Enright rescues and rehabs pigeons in the South Bay Area (he is in Torrance). He was turned in to animal control for having more than the allowed 4 pigeons, and all 200 of his birds were being confiscated today.

I am still scrambling to get all the accurate details of where these birds are being taken and whether or not they will be allowed to be adopted. Being rescue and rehab birds many will have disabilities of some type or another, and I'm very concerned that someone without a lot of pigeon knowledge is apt to make some unwise decisions resulting in the death of some or all of these birds.

If you are able to assist with this terrible situation in any way, please do let me know. We need homes and lots of them .. we need help with transportation .. we may need help with expenses ..

Once I have all the details and know what can or can't be done, I will update the list.

Bart and I will be taking all that we can, but we won't even make a dent in 200 birds.

Sadly, this is another example of a good person trying to help birds who got in over his head. Though he is devastated by what has happened, it is the birds that will pay the ultimate price. Please, let's all try to remember what our limits are and not push things so far that we lose our ability to help any birds.

Terry

[pdpbison]

Hi Terry,

I might be able to get a ride to Los Angeles on Saturday.

I could take any Babys, Youngsters, or those of impending release-ability.

Or, as many as would fit into my friends Car anyway...'if' in fact he is heading down there Sat'y and all...and he does plan to do so...so...


Phil
Las Vegas

[Reti]

Thank you, Phil.
This is a heartbreaking situation, I hope all birds can be rescued
Terry, you are doing a wonderful job, thank you. All the help I can offer is with the expenses.

Reti

[TAWhatley]

Thank you Phil and Reti. I still have not heard back from animal control so have no accurate details of what can or cannot be done at this point. I am working with some folks in the area up there who personally know Red, and hope to find out more from them tonight. I'll keep everyone posted.

Terry

[upcd]

I am an hour away from you should you need help.

[TAWhatley]

Thank you, Debbie .. how many could you take?

Terry

[Pigeonpal2002]

Hi Terry & All,

Terry I'm very sorry that this was the outcome, I personally never expected this...so very sad.

If those articles are truthful, then this person's home some like a shop of horrors to me and those birds were in horrible conditions. This "Red" Enright almost sounds like a Dr. Frankenstein and should never have been performing these barbaric procedures, nor allowing this mass accumulation of birds.

To me, this just drives home the point that some people in their overzealousness to help animals, are actually their worst enemy. You can kill a creature with "kindness" when that love is blinded, twisted and distorted. I feel more anger towards this person than the health officials for cleaning up and doing what they had to do.

I agree with Relee here, that this person was way in over their head and if this person didn't realize this, than they shouldn't be looking after animals. A person who genuinely cares for animals NEEDS to understand what is truly best for them and so many times with situations like this I have to ask..."how can they think they are doing something good"? If you love animals, then you have to be able to put their best interests ahead of your own. These "makeshift" operations he conducted on the birds sound dreadful!

I know there are 2 sides to every story but this side does shed a whole new light on this situation. What bothers me the most is that even IF this story is exaggerated and the conditions weren't as bad as the county health officials claimed, assuredly there are situations as described going on across the country. People who say they care and are "helping" animals, but in reality are killing them with "KINDNESS"!!!!!

[TAWhatley]

I did hear back from the animal control Lt. about 10 after 5 today. He was very professional and didn't try to sugar coat the situation or put any "spin" on things.

He advised that there was a vet on site as well as county health officials and county biologists. According to the Lt. the vet and the other health professionals involved felt that =all= the birds were malnourished and diseased to the point of no reasonable expectation of saving them. Given that animal control operations are not set up for caring for sick birds, I can see how they arrived at the euthanasia decision. If these birds were truly in that bad of shape, then there is no possible way I could have found enough people to take them all in and offer "heroic" efforts to nurse them back to health.

Indeed, all but Twister were euthanized, and Twister was spared because s/he was a much loved pet bird of Red's.

I was not able to find how out the method of euthanasia, but I am fairly certain it was an accepted humane way. There were also some pigeons sent to a local vet clinic for assessment in the hope that they could be saved. That was not the case, and those birds were euthanized at the clinic.

I'm just sick about this whole thing .. so many pigeon lives lost and also the suffering that Red has gone through and is going through. In spite of what appears to have been a horrific environment for the birds (and Red too), I know that he felt he was doing good for the birds and that he dearly loved them.

The Lt. did thank me for my offers of assistance and seemed quite sincere in his regret for how it all ended up.

Terry

[Pigeonpal2002]

Originally Posted by TAWhatley

In spite of what appears to have been a horrific environment for the birds (and Red too), I know that he felt he was doing good for the birds and that he dearly loved them.


Terry

The thing that bothers me most about this statement is that is really doesn't matter much what one "thinks" is best for the birds. The bottom line is that many times, it's not. Intentions are are often clouded by poor judgement and if someone suffers from blinded good intentions, then who suffers in the end....the animals.

Anyone can say that they have animals' interest at heart but their actions say otherwise. I have to question a persons state of mind, their rationale , values & morals.

If the basic needs aren't being provided for the birds (in this case) such as proper nutrition, suitable living conditions, not being overcrowded and proper health care then I find it hard to feel that someone believes they are doing what is best for their charges or that they in fact loved them. I can't get over the fact this man was performing these "operations" on the birds either

The whole thing makes me very sad, upset, and yes...angry.

[Lin Hansen]

Originally Posted by TAWhatley

I'm just sick about this whole thing .. so many pigeon lives lost and also the suffering that Red has gone through and is going through. In spite of what appears to have been a horrific environment for the birds (and Red too), I know that he felt he was doing good for the birds and that he dearly loved them.

Terry,

I'm so sorry for everyone involved in this sad situation...it's awful. It must have been very hard for you to have to provide the forum with "the other side of the story" seeing as how it portrayed Red in such a poor light. It's truly tragic what can occur when things are allowed to get out of hand.

Perhaps this will serve as a wake-up call to any other members at the forum that are in the midst of creating a similar tragedy. I doubt it, but there's always hope.

That old saying: "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions" seems very fitting....sadly.

Linda

[John_D]

Originally Posted by Lin Hansen

That old saying: "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions" seems very fitting....sadly.

That about sums it up, Linda.

I think it is probably the case that anyone who has pigeons is, generally, almost automatically perceived - at least initially - as being 'right' and in need of defense against 'authority' or other apparent persecutors.

Sadly, in this case, the only truly innocent are the pigeons

John

[BrianNAmy]

I would have liked to see if Animal Control and the Vets reached the same decisions if these were cats/dogs rather than pigeons. I've seen many "bird people" who claim to love birds and work around them, biased on their views towards pigeons and it makes me wonder if the clinic/vets they used weren't some of these people as well.

I can also guarantee if these were tropical Birds of Paradise, then the situation would have been handled much differently. But as it is, they were... pigeons.

[pdpbison]

Hi Terry, all..


Okay...

How sad

Phil
Las Vegas

[upcd]

God forgive us this is to terrble. Please grant these little babies into your kingdom. And please help this poor man get the help he needs.

[feralpigeon]

Hi Terry and all,

Yes, it does appear that there are two sides to every story, and I think that
the points involved were well addressed. One other point that I'd like to mention is that caring for birds out of carriers is very different from loft care. You are individually cleaning for each bird and it is very time consuming. I can't imagine having that number of birds to take care of all by myself. I know this must be hell what Red is going through right now, and that the animal control officers had no choice according to their duties. I just wish that there had been intermediate steps taken before calling in animal control. But maybe rehabbers would have felt the same way. Not caring for the dead is almost as unthinkable as neglecting the living.

fp