Green-winged macaw (Ara chloroptera)Animal control officers rescued 43 exotic birds Wednesday evening from a condemned East Side home.
"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."
Straub said animal control was notified Monday by neighbors who were concerned about what they thought were only about five birds in the home at 507 E. 12th St.
Neighbors said the owner hadn't been seen at the home for several days.
Straub said officials went to the home Tuesday and found 45 large macaw parrots in what she described as being in "pretty bad shape nutritionwise.
"He had no money to feed them. He had given them some dog food but these birds were in bad shape," she said. "In fact, we had three birds that died overnight (Tuesday)."
Straub said shelter workers brought fruit to the birds Tuesday. When they checked on the birds Wednesday they found three had died and decided to seek a warrant to immediately remove them from the home.
A warrant was issued and animal control officers aided by Pueblo police officers entered the home and removed the 43 birds.
Two additional birds were taken by family members of the owner and another bird died Wednesday at the Pueblo Zoo, where it was taken for treatment.
The homeowner was not at the home when the birds were taken. Police said it is unknown whether the man had been living at the residence.
She said the owner also had several dogs, cats and about 150 pigeons on the property but only the tropical birds were taken Wednesday.
"We're feeding and watering the other animals but our primary concern were the tropical birds because the house did not have heat," she said.
Officials from the Gabriel Foundation, an exotic bird sanctuary in Elizabeth, came to Pueblo to assist with removing the birds from the home and providing care to them, according to Straub.
She said a veterinarian that specializes in exotic birds was examining each bird Wednesday night.
Many of the birds appeared to be malnourished, Straub said.
"They're doing emergency medical treatment and evaluations right now to determine their condition," she said. "We have one that is receiving emergency treatment."
She said she won't know what will happen to the birds until all the medical exams are completed.
As for the owner, Straub said she's uncertain whether he will be charged with any 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," she said. "We had to act today. We had three birds that died overnight. Who knows how many we could've lost tonight (Wednesday)."