Thu, 06 Aug 2009 6:29p.m.
Pupils from Temuka primary school had a tough lesson in life and death this morning.
An overnight intruder killed 32 parrots, galahs and other exotic birds at the town's popular aviary.
Timaru Bird Club Vice-President Pat Rule has being looking after birds for 42 years. He is devastated by the slaughter.
“When I got here it was just like a battlefield. There was birds all over the place and they were mutilated. The necks were wrung off. They were trodden on. Their guts were hanging out. It was a disaster.”
Only 20 birds survived the attack.
While Willie and the other talking parrots have now been silenced, there's every chance they would have gone down fighting.
Mr Rule explained: “These birds when they're frightened, they've got claws and beaks and the person who killed all these birds, there's 32 of them…would have a few scratches and claw marks on ‘em. So we are looking for that person.”
And when they are caught the offender or offenders are unlikely to get much sympathy.
Mr Rule said: “We hope to get an arrest soon and we don't want him to have community service we want him to be strung up.”
Other residents are more concerned about the barbaric nature of the attack.
Local man Charles Solomon-Rehi said: “Look, if they can do that to innocent birds like that you know, I mean what can they do to human beings? I mean if they've got that much hatred and bloody venom in the heart I mean you know, bloody what would they do to bloody people? They need to be caught.”
The police share those concerns and are treating it as a serious offence.
3 News