A Murder Of… Budgies?
On the eve of the prestigious Cornwall Budgerigar Show, the aviary of Andrew Pooley, one of South England's top budgie breeders, was broken into and 21 of his best birds were stolen. Worse still, several birds were badly injured and one, reigning "best of breed" title holder Penmead Pride, had been killed. Stamped on by the callous intruders.
Because their distinctive markings would be instantly recognised among the close-knit budgie fancying community, the score of stolen budgies are unlikely to ever make another show appearance. And that might suit the culprit just fine, if his intention was to eliminate the competition by fair means or (can't resist, sorry) fowl. Pooley had left the shed unlocked briefly when he ran an errand to the nearby town of Camelford from his home in Delabole in Cornwall, and only noticed something was wrong at 9.45 that evening, when he came to make a final check on his prized birds and was - in an suitably Harrissian moment - startled by the silence of the budgies. Police are still investigating whether this is the work of a competitor but Mr. Pooley is in no doubt.
"The person or people who did this must have known exactly which ones to take because they only targeted my show team," he told reporters (Daily Mail).
Comments
Let's get the obvious jokes out of the way...
The police are still searching for leads, but the budgerigars weren't wearing any!
The police are hoping a stool pigeon will come forward.
The police are on the lookout for budgie smugglers.
Police are worried that the criminals might have too much of a redstart.
A police spokesman said today that it was unlike the break-in had been done for a lark.
😉
The police are still searching for leads, but the budgerigars weren't wearing any!
The police are hoping a stool pigeon will come forward.
The police are on the lookout for budgie smugglers.
Police are worried that the criminals might have too much of a redstart.
A police spokesman said today that it was unlike the break-in had been done for a lark.
😉
Posted by Dumbfounded on 09/09/10 at 06:06 PM
Tastes like chicken 😜
Posted by ANON in Nowhere on 09/09/10 at 06:13 PM
Dumbfounded, you missed one:
The thieves entered the shed, and then got the flock out of there.
The thieves entered the shed, and then got the flock out of there.
Posted by Kenneth on 09/09/10 at 07:49 PM
I swear, my first thought is... insurance scam. Were the birds insured? He just "happened" to leave the door open, that ONE TIME. Right.
See Chuck? We can be cynical :lol:
See Chuck? We can be cynical :lol:
Posted by Nethie on 09/10/10 at 12:07 AM
I'm with Nethie on this one. Too much coincidence here.
Or
Were the pair'a evil doers reading Keats in the bushes waiting for just this slip in security?
Or
Were the pair'a evil doers reading Keats in the bushes waiting for just this slip in security?
Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 09/10/10 at 12:41 AM
Apparently they only took female (hen) budgies. You'd have thought they'd have snatched a cock or two.
Posted by Dumbfounded on 09/10/10 at 04:47 AM
The total value of the stolen birds is only about £2000 ($3000). If it was an insurance scam it'd be a pretty extreme course of action to net such a small amount of money.
Another UK paper is claiming the birds were stolen "to order" for a foreign dealer (Mirror). Mind you, certain bits of the British press blame almost everything on "foreigners."
Another UK paper is claiming the birds were stolen "to order" for a foreign dealer (Mirror). Mind you, certain bits of the British press blame almost everything on "foreigners."
Posted by Dumbfounded on 09/10/10 at 05:00 AM
i thought the shed being unlocked was odd as well. but i would have also thought these birds were beloved pets. (like pampered show dogs) stomping an animal to death that likes and trusts humans is unimaginable cruel. kinda sad.
Posted by Patty in Ohio, USA on 09/10/10 at 08:25 AM
"the trouble with quibbles" wasn't that a star trek episode? :cheese:
Posted by Patty in Ohio, USA on 09/10/10 at 09:20 AM
Actually it should be spelled with an 'e' after the second 's' and a 'y' after the 't' instead of an 'i'. Thus "passe-tyme."
Posted by Dumbfounded on 09/10/10 at 09:31 AM
If you put the URL in and it looks like an image one, i.e. "http://blog.al.com/techcetera/2008/12/tribble.jpg", it will make a link automatically like so...
http://blog.al.com/techcetera/2008/12/tribble.jpg
If that doesn't work, put [img] and [/img] tags around it.
http://blog.al.com/techcetera/2008/12/tribble.jpg
If that doesn't work, put [img] and [/img] tags around it.
Posted by Dumbfounded on 09/10/10 at 09:48 AM
@martel, hover your cursor over the budgie picture above. 😉
Posted by Dumbfounded on 09/10/10 at 09:50 AM
That, Frank, is a tribble and the trouble with tribbles is that they eat everything and multiply rapidly. Unlike buggies (parakeets on the western side of the pond) who eat like birds and lay eggs only occasionally.
Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 09/10/10 at 10:45 AM
The first thing that comes to my mind is the Welsh Rock band Budgie, who were kind of like early Black Sabbath if they were sped up and fronted by Geddy Lee:
Budgie - "Breadfan"
Budgie - "Crash Course In Brain Surgery"
Budgie - "Breadfan"
Budgie - "Crash Course In Brain Surgery"
Posted by Freddie Freelance on 09/10/10 at 12:20 PM
Stomping the one budgie was particularly cruel - probably not for the budgie so much as for the owner.
BTW, to get from Delabole to Camelford, Google Earth shows me you have to pass by Slaughter Bridge. Now, if *I* were the local rozzers, that might be a place to start looking for sus-pecks.
BTW, to get from Delabole to Camelford, Google Earth shows me you have to pass by Slaughter Bridge. Now, if *I* were the local rozzers, that might be a place to start looking for sus-pecks.
Posted by TheCannyScot in Atlanta, GA on 09/10/10 at 12:53 PM
that's cuz klingons are mean frank.
Posted by Patty in Ohio, USA on 09/10/10 at 04:20 PM
*snicker* pop the cap *giggle*
Posted by Patty in Ohio, USA on 09/11/10 at 05:51 PM
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