My conscience vs. My conscience

[ShreddedOakAviary]

I have a pair of birds here that legally belong to someone else. That "someone" has decided he wants to move the pair back to his place... now, I do deals like tgis regularly and never had the problem I have now. His birds are neglected, his diet is aweful, raccoons regularly get in and eat parrots, and he dumps sick stuff at auction regularly. His only offense against me is that a couple years ago I gave him an Afican Grey with the verbal agreement he would give it back to me if he didn't decide to keep it. It got plucked and sick and he dumped it at the Macon, MO auction. He did tge same thing to his actual business partner. I have offered to buy the birds, but he is an old sexist buthead who has been falling down hill for a couple years and he refuses to be outdine by me... (he's been competitive with me from the word go, and I don't know why since we don't breed the same stuff... I mean seriously I don't have a pair of hyacinths or anywhere near the macaw numbers he has. His aviary has a tragic history of mate killings among the cockatoos. BUT I don't have a legal leg to stand on. I have called ALL the animal rescue organizations AND the sheriff in an attenpt to get his act cleaned up before I send these birds back, but no one does anything. So here I sit staring at a pair of birds headed to auction at best and certain death at worst.... it's killing me.

 

[ShreddedOakAviary]

The only hope I have is to pay double what they are worth... and with the drought my hay bill is so high I can't afford to fork over $2000 for these birds. I could after November, but there is no way he'll wait that long. Sorry I am just venting since I have been losing sleep over it for a while. In the end I'll have to send them back.

 

[aliray]

Is it a legal written contract that you have to give the birds back? What woulld happen if you didn"t ? How about a local news channel if the spca won't do anything?

 

[Sassy]

WOw that sucks... I don't know what to tell you... I'm new to all this bird stuff.. LOL Seriously there has got to be a way to get him charged with animal cruelty.

 

[ShreddedOakAviary]

I've considered the news, but his business partner is a close friend and has been unable to satisfactorily divide their business.... so that's a blow that would hurt a bunch of innocent people. Worst case scenario if I don't give them back.... I'll feel like a theif and he'll talk crap and maybe show up at my house threatening.

 

[ShreddedOakAviary]

Its likely he'd take me to court actually.

 

[Rio Mom]

If he does send them to auction, you could try going to the auction and get them back there. Assuming the highest bid would be less than $2000?

 

[merlinsmom13]

Wondering if they're banded. Could you fake him out by not taking his calls until November? Tell him they died, the 'coons got them.

 

[ShreddedOakAviary]

I could. It would require traveling to MO. And he would do what he normally does and pretend they're individual pets and ask more like $1500 each. But odds are they won't survive until next years Lolli Brothers auction. Ugh.

 

[ShreddedOakAviary]

Not banded. I'm gonna see if he'll take $2000 in unweaned babies (at least those birds I know he'll selland won't get eaten by raccoons )

 

[Echo]

I would HATE to give that guy any of my babies!!! Why don't you tell him something awful happened to them and in the meantime either find a home for them(so you indeed don't have them for him to bring you to court) or keep them but put an open band on them and pretend they are not his birds. Do you own the same species as these 2?

 

[mtdoramike]

Wow, what a delima. I'm not going to advise you to do anything illegal or lie to the person. Unfortunately it is what it is and some times no matter how much something stinks or gnaws at you, you still have to what you have to do. This maybe one of those times you just have to bite the bullit. The fellow will probably want more from you than he would anyone else. I have a brother like that.

 

[ShreddedOakAviary]

There has to be an "honest" way. My teenage years aside I just can't take something from aomeone.... no matter how much I want to. We are at a sort of stale mate because he's afraid if he makes me mad that people will stop.trusting him (magically I had that effect in another guy who claimed to be a breeder but was one if the worst hoarding xases, and because such people tend to trust my opinion). I've also helped save his birds a few times and advised on treatments and testing when he was in a rough spot before. He has a meeting tomorrow with his business partner and he doesn't realize the business partner tells me everything.... so I am gonna wait and see what he says about me and the virds tomorrow and go from there... ugh

 

[sonja]

What kind of birds are they? Would he allow you to sell them to homes and charge a reasonable fee and give him the money?

 

[ShreddedOakAviary]

A type of bird that I'd be hard pressed to find someone that has the facilities to handle a breeding pair. Trust me when I say that if I kept this pair I would only breed maybe every other year.... they do not make good pets. Besides he already admitted to me he's gonna be greedy.

 

[Echo]

Wow, what a delima. I'm not going to advise you to do anything illegal or lie to the person. Unfortunately it is what it is and some times no matter how much something stinks or gnaws at you, you still have to what you have to do. This maybe one of those times you just have to bite the bullit. The fellow will probably want more from you than he would anyone else. I have a brother like that.

"birds are neglected" "raccoons regularly eat parrots" "birds headed to auction at best and certain death at worst". I don't make a habit of lying, however quoting the first post, and we're talking about life and death, you bet I would lie to that moron!