‘Bad smell’ leads police to 14 malnourished, filthy parrots in empty Oklahoma home

When police responded to a call about “loud chirping” and a “bad smell” at an Oklahoma City home, they discovered 14 malnourished parrots in the garage on Wednesday, KOCO reported.

Neighbors had suffered the smell for years, but had finally had enough, KOKH reported.

“When the heat was on you got the smell,” area resident Elizabeth Vargas said, according to KOKH, “You’re out here working in the yard and people are stopping by wanting to know what’s the noise.”

Police say many of the parrots were bald and suffering from broken wings and shoulders, KOCO reported.

“It was filthy, it stunk, they were kept in a dark garage. There was no light, no fresh air moving through. Very sad situation,” MSgt. Gary Knight of the Oklahoma City Police Department said, according to KWTV.

Vargas said the homeowner left the birds when he moved around 15 years ago, the TV station reported.

“He came every other day to take care of them,” Vargas said, according to KFOR.

Oklahoma City Animal Welfare is “nursing the parrots back to health,” according to KFOR. Animal cruelty charges are pending and the Oklahoma City Health Department declared the home “uninhabitable,” KWTV reported.

This story was originally published July 2, 2019 at 8:50 AM with the headline "‘Bad smell’ leads police to 14 malnourished, filthy parrots in empty Oklahoma home."