111 birds seized from breeder
Aurora, CO (US)Incident Date: Friday, Sep 25, 2009
County: Arapahoe
Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Dismissed (Conditional)
Persons of Interest:
» Lisa McManus
» Alan McManus - Convicted
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
The city's Animal Care Division seized 111 birds last month from an Aurora home last month, claiming that the animals were treated cruelly and forced to live in inhumane conditions.
City officials say they seized the birds -- a group that included parrots, macaws and conures -- from Lisa McManus' Aurora home last month, following an unannounced inspection of her home by an Aurora Animal Care Officer. According to court documents obtained by The Aurora Sentinel, the officer found dirty cages with no water, bedding soiled with feces and several dead mice in McManus' home.
Spokesmen for the city's Animal Care Division say that McManus is facing several charges related to infractions to the city code, including cruelty to animals, the endangerment of the health and life of an animal, failure to remove feces and humane care charges related to the lack of potable water. The possible fines for the misdemeanor charges range from $15 to $1,000, plus one year in jail. McManus was not arrested, but was issued a summons by the city. She is due in municipal court next month, city spokesmen said.
McManus, a licensed bird breeder, was unavailable for comment at press time. McManus is featured on websites for several local and international aviary societies that specialize in parrots, macaws and other exotic birds.
McManus is also featured on a website offering bird sales and breeding services. The site advertises McManus' "nursery" in Aurora, and it offers customers a wide variety of bird species. According to the site, McManus offered 15 different breeds of conures from her home in Aurora, including blue crowns, roseifrons, peach fronts, half moons, crimson bellies, nandays, mitreds, slender billed and patagonians.
The website says that McManus is an aviculturist, and that "caring for birds and breeding birds has been a growing passion for her for over a decade and every day brings new discoveries."
According to the search affidavit, the city code officer conducted an unannounced visit to McManus' home on Sept. 18. During the inspection, the officer found a number of filthy cages that had attracted flies, as well as dead mice. The affidavit says that the Denver Dumb Friends League had received a complaint about the conditions in McManus' home.
According to the affidavit, the inspecting officer visted a downstairs room where he "could detect the odor of feces and rotting organic matter." He also found that all the cages in the room "were filthy and appeared not to have been cleaned in weeks."
Aurora officials say that officers also found four dogs that had not been registered with the city at McManus' home.
Officers from the city's Animal Care Division had also conducted searches of McManus' property earlier in the year, the affidavit states, but McManus had corrected violations related to mistreatment and neglect standards.
Some of the birds were relocated to the city's animal shelter, Animal Care employees said, while others were transferred to the care of a local bird rescue organization.
Case UpdatesA bird breeder who had more than 100 parrots, macaws, conures and other animals seized from her home last year has gotten 35 of the animals back, following a deferred judgment by a local court.
In September 2009, the city's Animal Care Division seized 111 birds from the Aurora home of Lisa McManus, a bird breeder who had been featured on websites for several local and international aviary societies that specialize in parrots, macaws and other exotic birds. Animal Care Division spokesmen claimed that the animals were treated cruelly and forced to live in inhumane conditions.
A deferred judgement made by a city court in October mandated that McManus would be able to reclaim 35 birds of her choosing, as long as she followed specific conditions. According to the judgment, McManus had to buy clean cages and get rid of the soiled bedding, dead mice and other refuse that was found during initial inspections by Animal Care officers.
According to the terms of the judgement, Animal Care officers will also conduct monthly inspections of the property for one year to see that McManus complies with the conditions.
After failing inspections twice, city officials said McManus filled the terms of the judgement and reclaimed 35 of the original 111 birds. The rest of the animals were remitted to a local bird rescue shelter.
The October judgment also mandated that McManus pay about $12,000 in impound fees, vet bills and boarding of animal charges. McManus paid the fines, but in a restitution hearing held on Jan. 12, McManus was ordered to pay an additional $8,344, according to city spokeswoman Kathy Cable.
Lisa McManus' husband, Alan McManus, was also charged in the animal cruelty case. According to Cable, Alan McManus plead guilty to "care of confined animals" charges. The case agains Lisa and Alan McManus will remain open for one year, and will be dismissed if the couple do not any incur any additional violations.
Cable said that the couple will not be able to breed birds during the next year, and they can have no more than the 35 birds they reclaimed from the city.
Lisa McManus was unavailable for comment at press time. A website that featured McManus' "nursery" in Aurora and offered bird sales and breeding services at the time of the seizure has since been taken down. | Source: Aurora Sentinel - Jan 20, 2010
Update posted on Apr 11, 2011 - 2:12PM |
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