Vet says massive bird seizure consequence of poor city bylaw

Animal services workers found the opposite of a sanctuary inside a home jammed with dead and dying birds, a tragedy that a disgusted veterinarian blamed on ‘pathetic’ city inaction.

The city’s Animal Services Agency was called by police Wednesday after the birds were discovered, city communications officer Pam McKenzie said Thursday.

“Many of the birds were deceased and many of the remaining birds were underweight and have been seen by a veterinarian,” McKenzie said. “Forty-three birds are now in care at Winnipeg Animal Services.”

Veterinarian Dr. Jonas Watson and his staff at Grant Park Animal Hospital treated the birds for more than eight hours.

Sources confirmed the owner had died, but didn’t know when. Watson said the owner appeared to be an “overwhelmed caregiver” who was unable to adequately care for the pets.

“(Animal services) discovered dozens and dozens of budgies, canaries, cockatiels, lovebirds and finches, all in abysmal condition, starving to death, with no access to food or clean water, and many with various illnesses and maladies… many birds were actively dying as we were attending to them,” Watson said.

Animal services has put out a call for donations of new or gently used bird cages, and it’s seeking volunteers to assist with daily care. Donations can be dropped off at 1057 Logan Ave. during opening hours.

“Our facility is not set up to care for birds at this capacity, but we are making space so they can begin recovering,” animal services advised the public in a social media post.

No trace of transmissible disease has been found in any of the birds, who are not yet ready to be adopted.

Watson described their discovery as tragic, but not shocking. Instead, he said, it is a consequence of the city’s “pathetic” inaction on regulations that govern exotic pet ownership.

In 2022, city council had considered changes to the Responsible Pet Ownership Bylaw, including banning certain birds, fish and reptiles from being kept as pets, as well as restrictions on how many exotic animals can be kept in an individual household.

Pet retailers and other organizations were firmly opposed. While the bylaw was amended to add new animal welfare rules, exotic animals were not part of the changes.

“The blame falls on all of those politicians who knew that this was a problem and chose to do nothing about it,” he said.

“I’m exhausted today. We’re going to go back today, there’s more work to be done. We’ve got nails to trim, beaks to file, animals to assess, medications to prescribe, mites to treat. It’s really very frustrating. This is not just something that’s happening in a vacuum.”

Currently, only the number of cats and dogs allowed in a household is regulated.

Community services committee chair Coun. Vivian Santos, who owns two cockatiels and three canaries, said she understands the level of care exotic pets require.

She said she’s open to taking another look at the regulations.

“Some of the challenges we’re seeing now with exotic pets, I think there could be an opportunity to revisit this and work with council colleagues,” Santos said.

There have been two major animal hoarding cases in Winnipeg recently: 68 Maltese dogs were rescued from a Richmond West home in May 2024, and more than 130 dogs were seized from a home north of Winnipeg in August.

Winnipeg Humane Society CEO Christina Von Schindler said it’s possible news stories about animal hoarding have encouraged people to be more vigilant and report it.

Addressing animal hoarding is complicated, she said, because it requires a multi-faceted approach that should include better access to veterinary services and better overall access to mental health care. Hoarding can signal severe psychological issues.

“Nobody sits out at the end of the day deciding that they want the animals they love and their own life to become such an unhealthy situation that it requires external intervention to save animals and other beings in that house,” she said.

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca