Several animals died early Monday morning after a pipe burst at The Center for Avian and Exotic Medicine on Columbus Avenue and 87th Street, and the center has been forced to stop taking appointments.
“Six parrots — three African Greys, two Pionus Parrots and a Conure — died along with one parakeet, two rabbits and a hedgehog,” the Post reported.
A fundraising page set up to keep the office running explained what happened:
“Yesterday morning, sometime between 6:30 and 8AM a heating coil in our main heat unit burst. It was connected to the main hot water pipes to the entire building, and exploded with scalding hot water and steam. Steam and hot water burst through the ceilings and permeated the entire practice.
While the damage to the practice is devastating, the real horror is that some of our beloved patients did not survive. Words cannot express how devastated the owners are, and how terrible the entire staff feels for them.
Not only did we lose precious lives, but now with the overwhelming water damage, we are unable to see appointments here. More animals that we cannot help.”
The fundraising campaign had already raised $19,815 as of Tuesday night at 11:20 p.m. They’re aiming to raise $35,000.
Photo from The Center for Avian and Exotic Medicine.
OMG! So sad for the animals who lost their lives.
Thanks be that no humans were hurt!
Horrib;e news.
All animals are innocent.
Humans are not.
Why a fund raiser?
Doesn’t the center have insurance?
Americans are the most giving of people.
But the question remains:
Does not the center have insurance?
And if not, how negligence it that?!
Do I infer correctly from this comment of yours that had the random victims been human, you would have found the incident less tragic?
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Keeping exotic animals in captivity is harmful and unfair to the animals being kept, to other life forms and to humans.
It may be that they need the funds to keep running until the insurance check comes and to move to a different space while the work gets done. Then again, insurance coverage can be mercurial….the insurance blames the landlord….etc etc etc
Thank you YoungSally.
You may be on to something I missed.
Perhaps a partial answer to several of these questions is that these vets are about the only bird vets in the city with their expertise, and they contribute a great deal of time and effort to the Wikd Bird Fund across the street, which is the only wildlife rehab center to look after birds (and other small animals) in NYC.
I have pets, and I do not think it is cruel to them. Many birds are social and seem to live well in captivity. It is important to care well for the animals in your care, and for those who have birds, this place is an essential resource. I’m very sorry to see that these animals died. They were rabbits and burds and a hedgehog, all of which are well cared for here – it sounds as though the ones that died were pets, but could also be the animals that this place cares for on an ongoing basis.
In any event, losing this place would be a serious loss to the city, and I hope their fundraising has been successful.