The heartbroken owner of a £1,000 cockatoo, snatched for the second time from a Limavady pet shop, has appealed for the thieves to return the "too hot to handle" bird.
The bare-eyed cockatoo Joey was plucked from his cage in The Pet Stop on Catherine Street on Wednesday night. It is the fourth time the shop has been targeted in the last five years and since it opened in 1985.

An American grey cockatoo, which has a damaged wing and an Umbrella cockatoo called Harry were also stolen, as well as two snakes. The animals are thought to be worth at least £2,500.

"It makes me ill, so it does," said owner Val Greenwood, picking up Joey's feathers strewn on the ground.

"The snakes don't bite, but it's a pity they don't," she said.

The 71-year-old discovered the mess when she opened the shop at 7.30am yesterday. It is believed the intruders used a saw to open the grill door at the back of the shop. They also prized open and busted the wooden door using a crow bar. When she went inside her shop, Val was confronted with a bloody mess on the ground and walls. She believes Harry would have been petrified and probably repeatedly banged his wing against the cage, injuring himself, which would explain the blood.

"It would have annoyed him," she said.

As for Joey, who was stolen but returned after being missing for several weeks about three years ago, Val described the popular white-coloured bird as lively and very chatty. He was wearing a plastic collar, and had plucked all the feathers on his chest.

"People come from all over to see him and everyone in the town knows him. In fact, there was one lady who came in to see him today and when she heard what happened she was in tears," explained Val, adding the bird would nip anyone he is unfamiliar with. "They would have had a struggle with Joey."

Describing Harry, a large and very, very noisy bird, Val said, "They've wrecked the cage. It's ruined."

Police forensics were in the shop on Thursday morning. Val said the shop might open for business at some point later in the day.

"You see they are very crafty," she said of those responsible. "They only took the birds that were hand reared and are worth a lot of money. The only word for these people is scum. Aren't they?"

As well as stealing the animals, the intruders left a mess before fleeing, ripping animal accessories from the wall and trashing the front area of the shop. Staff were still cleaning up on Thursday afternoon.

"I come here everyday and I work hard," said Val, who believes the perpetrators will try to sell the birds. "But sure they couldn't sell Joey in the town because everyone knows him."

Val appealed to other pet shops across the province to remain vigilant and contact police if they are approached in relation to buying either a cockatoo or a snake.

Source: Derry Journal