Budgerigar breeder blames rival for attack on his birds
Thursday 09 September 2010
Latest in Crime
On Facebook
From the blogs
Tyrannosaur and Drive: The difference between loneliness and being alone
The prospect of loneliness is probably one of the biggest fears that humans have to contend with. Mo...
The Woman in Black: From page, to stage, to film
Director James Watkins and screenwriter Jane Goldman discuss how they kept up the constant high leve...
The future of academic publishing
These are the most uncertain times in living memory for academic publishing. After decades of bumpin...
Books with soundtracks: no, really, this one works…
Books with soundtracks. The idea is so glaringly obvious, and so obviously feeble, that I hesitate t...
A top budgerigar breeder spoke of his devastation yesterday after returning home to find his champion bird killed in a suspected sabotage attack by a rival.
Andrew Pooley, 58, discovered his prize bird, Penmead Pride, had been stamped on and 21 others – worth £2,000 – had been stolen the night before they were due to compete in Cornwall Budgerigar Show.
He suspects he has been the victim of sabotage by a rival breeder and the incident is being investigated by police.
The killing happened on 20 August, a day before the competition where Penmead Pride was last year crowned champion. Mr Pooley, of Delabole, Cornwall, had been due to take part in the event but was forced to withdraw because of the loss of his prize birds.
He said yesterday: "I was devastated. I felt sick. It's a feeling I can't explain. I have spent 40 years of my life breeding budgies and it's just in the last five that I have started to do really well on the show circuit. I spent most of my time with the birds, they were my life."
Mr Pooley said he had made appeals in specialist budgerigar publications in the hope of catching those responsible and getting his birds back. "There's nothing I can do to put this right," he said.
"I have everyone in the country looking for them. I can't think who would have done it. I'm 100 per cent certain whoever did this knew what they were doing as they picked the best birds, they targeted my show team," he added.
On the day of the attack, Mr Pooley had been preparing his birds for the show with the help of his nephew. He did not realise what had happened until the next morning, when he went inside his aviary to feed the birds.
"I walked in and it was very, very quiet and I thought that was strange," he said. "I looked and saw that the birds were gone and on the ground were three dead, including Penmead Pride."
- 1 Eight arrests as Murdoch 'throws staff to the wolves'
- 2 Whitney Houston dies aged 48
- 3 What really happened on the bridge when the Costa Concordia crashed
- 4 I was born to be a killer. Every night I see the Devil in my dreams
- 5 Lightning kills an entire football team
- 6 Hacking group threatens 'crusade' against Israel
- 7 BBC to issue global apology for documentaries that broke rules
- 1 I was born to be a killer. Every night I see the Devil in my dreams
- 2 BBC to issue global apology for documentaries that broke rules
- 3 Lightning kills an entire football team
- 4 Rothschild loses libel case, and reveals secret world of money and politics
- 5 The Top 50 Independent Schools at A-level*
- 6 Younger Castro steers Cuba to a new revolution
- 7 Mona Lisa's 'twin sister' is discovered – 500 years late
- 8 Pucker up: The art of kissing
- 9 Scottish town where green is beyond the pale
- 10 Lonely? Shy? Sad? Well now you're 'mentally ill', too
Free trial of new Independent iPad app
Get your daily dose of the best of British journalism, sponsored by American Airlines
Win a three-week coastal jaunt
Spend three weeks exploring every nook and cranny of gorgeous Atlantic Canada.
Amazing restaurant offers
Three glasses of free champagne and a special menu at 46 top London restaurants.
Latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
Day In a Page
Jim Gamble: We are losing the race to protect our young


Comments