Over 600 Birds Pulled From Small, Ohio Home

CLINTONVILLE, OH — Parrots, parakeets, cockatiels, finches, Macaws, and Cockatoos were found crammed inside a suburban Columbus home Tuesday. Animal rescue workers pulled more than 600 birds out of the house — many of the animals missing feathers and suffering from a variety of medical ailments.

The Columbus Humane Society and the American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) pulled the birds out of a 1,000 square foot home in Clintonville, 10TV reported. A tipster complained about the living conditions for the animals, prompting an investigation.

Neighbors said they thought the homeowner was merely compassionate and had a soft spot for birds. She was seen nursing injured animals. "She was compassionate about what she did. She made people believe that she worked with the rescue people care for the animals," Martha Mumford, a neighbor, told 10TV.

Workers from both the Humane Society and ASPCA were seen bringing large cages out of the home and loading them into U-Hauls and vans. The birds were then taken to a temporary shelter, for medical assessment and care.

In total, it took workers nearly 10 hours to get all of the birds out of the house, the Columbus Dispatch reported. The Human Society was shut down on August 14 to perform the extraction. Columbus Human Society CEO Rachel Finney told the paper that it was "pretty overwhelming to step into the house."

Finney added that she thinks this is the largest extraction her agency has ever performed. Her team will begin assessing the birds shortly, and once that is complete charges may be filed against the homeowner. Finney said she's "confident" charges will be made.

Updates on the condition of the rescued birds will be provided on the Human Society's Facebook page, Finney said.

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