By Lucas Sullivan
Animal rights groups are asking for help to rescue as many as 60 exotic birds they say are starving to death inside a condemned Troy home, a case of animal hoarding a local veterinarian said is the “most horrific” display of animal cruelty he’s seen.
Daniel Brauer, of Dayton South Veterinary Clinic, said the home’s owner, Doug Ratcliff gave him permission to remove 10 Macaw, Cockatoo and African Grey parrots from his home that were starving and in need of medical treatment.
Brauer said his employees discovered as many as 30 dead birds in and around the home at 2063 W. Ohio 55 in Troy. Workers who rescued the birds said feces and raw peanuts covered the floor of the entire house, and there are physical signs birds were destroying each other.
Ratcliff would not comment, only to say Brauer’s group “stole” his birds. Brauer’s office produced a document signed by Ratcliff on Aug. 3 that gave them permission to remove 10 birds from the home.
“I was horrified by what I saw,” said veterinary technician Jim Tinnell, who claims he convinced Ratcliff to let him remove 10 birds from the home that could be saved. “I’ve never seen anything like it in my 40 years of caring for animals.”
Brauer said members of the Miami Valley Bird Club were notified weeks ago that about 100 birds were inside Ratcliff’s home, which had been condemned for some time. Ratcliff left the home because of health complications, but was still purchasing the birds at local auctions, club members and veterinary workers said..." More & photos
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