The theft of my little green singing finch

In reading this post about my little green finch, please keep in mind Vikky’s accusation here on this link, of me being a ‘freebie hunter’, and Vikky doesnt have any UKPR birds herself because everybody else is looking after them for her!

Updated: below with a comment from the comments section of: Who are UKPR?

Several weeks back a local animal rescue charity I work with called me regarding an elderly gentleman who had two small birds that he needed rehoming because he could no longer care for them.

I went and collected them, returned them home and profiled the two as a Canary and Java sparrow. (I was later to find out that the Canary was in fact a Green Singing Finch.)

As someone who had been a UKPR forum member and sat back and watched what was going on, on the forum since my time of joining, I had watched many people sent to the naughty step (banned) by Vikky in that time. Because nobody is allowed to talk about UKPR experiences anywhere else on the net, and there was no other medium for people to share their stories no one ever knew what people had done to earn banning.

This situation with the little Green Singing Finch that had come into my care, and the situation with JJ and Mylo resulted in me being banned from the UKPR forum and the thread removed, thus silencing the truth from being told about my situation, just like all those times it had happened to other people before me.

I was appalled at the shady dealings and dodgy activities that I had encountered during my brief personal dealings with UKPR including their total disregard for the welfare of the rescued birds. I believed there was no way my experience could be an isolated incident so decided to set up this blog to provide an open forum where other people who had experienced similar things at the hands of UKPR could come forward and share their side of the story and together we could gather a clearer picture of what is actually going on with this ‘rescue’ organisation.

Through my short dealings with UKPR, it is my personal belief, based upon the facts, that the founder of UKPR (Vikky) has seriously lost sight of what UKPR was initially started for, unless that is, she knew all along, which would not surprise me. That being the case, the welfare of vulnerable birds that have been placed into her care as a rescue have become I would say, 3rd place in her list of priorities. 1st place is what her and her close UKPR associates can garner from their bird rescue forum and all of its caring members and bird owners needing to rehome their pets, and 2nd is her pride in never wanting to ever be wrong because she’s the boss of UKPR, even at the expense of the birds.

If we as bird rescuers and lovers, do not defend the rights of birds to be protected from unscrupulous human beings then who will?

As many people reading this blog know, the rescue birds in our care are our responsibility so we should defend their welfare if we are right, no matter what is inflicted upon us by those who profess to be rescuers, who in fact are professional breeders masquerading as rescuers, because it is a licence to print money with no real rules to hold anybody to account.

The only ones who lose out in all of this are the innocent, defenceless birds who become nothing more than money making machines and high value property for those whose signature is on the piece of paper stating ownership.

For instance, look at how UKPR ask potential fosterers to donate money for the rescue bird they are willing to give a new home to, and then they place a monetary figure on their heads, and not a small figure either. The bird is then always (Vikky) UKPR’s high value possession available to demand back at any time, which we are now finding out is a common occurrence with UKPR rescue birds. The foster family who takes on a UKPR bird has the sole responsibility of all costs for the bird for as long as he or she is in their care. So UKPR (Vikky) owns every high monetary value bird that is out there now which has passed through UKPR hands. A sentient creature that has a loving family caring for it, who I should expect after hearing some of the stories now coming out, is petrified of the knock on their front door from the UKPR heavies demanding the bird back who they have bonded with, has adjusted to their new home and is now living with them as part of their family.

The question is; where does all of that donated money go that foster families are paying for the rescued birds they are caring for?

I wonder whether or not you are allowed to ask for a donation towards a rescued bird if you are not a charity?

That was until the finch episode that played out across telephone and email away from the UKPR forum with Vikky, and the cage scenario that did.

Back to my little green finch:

He came to me with his Java Sparrow cage mate came in a nice spacious cage and settled in my home enchanting us all with his heartbreakingly beautiful song. For me he could happily have stayed with us but I noticed that he spent most of his day flitting to and fro from his little mirror brushing his face against his reflection which I found very sad and decided that a good home with others of his own kind would be the best situation for his happiness.

I posted on a thread on the UKPR forum to rehome the finch and sparrow, but sadly within 24 hours of the move, the little sparrow died so I was left with the responsibility of homing the finch alone.

I was contacted by Pauline, another UKPR member (also now banned from the forum!) who has an aviary and offered to take my little green singing finch in and give him a home with her finches. I agreed, hesitantly, might I add, because I had become very fond of hearing his beautiful little voice but knew the best place for him was in an aviary with other birds. I did say at the time that I would not let him go to a home if he was just going to be stuck in a cage somewhere because if that was the case I would have kept him with me because he was no trouble and settled in well.

This scenario with my finch played out on the UKPR forum at the same time as Adele and Vikky asked me to take in JJ and Mylo. So it was arranged that I would drop off my finch to Jamie the driver who lives close by and he would deliver it the next day to Pauline before picking up JJ and Mylo to bring him back with him.

So I dropped off the little finch last Friday night and spent some time at the home of Jamie the driver. At the same time Alan (ex UKPR) was there who had also dropped off a canary that was also going to Pauline’s.

Jamie’s first words when he set eyes on the finch was that it is a green singing finch and not a canary (because I had first thought it was a canary), and the second thing that came out of his mouth was that they are worth 60 or 70 pounds, and then I believe he said he used to breed them (don’t quote me 100% on that though).

We didn’t think anything of what was said at the time, it is only now that the real picture is emerging.

During the course of the conversations that night at Jamie’s house, we were told that the aviary at the back of the house was for breeding ring neck parakeets, which he himself clearly states here. We also got to see his badly plucked UKPR Eclectus hen called Cherry, who we now know, has her own sad story which mirrors my experiences on this blog, and the experiences of others posting here. We didn’t think anything more about it, and in chatting Jamie said that he is going to be getting a partner for her. He also told us how female Eclectus’ want to breed all the time, and that she keeps getting out of her cage trying to nest under the table below. Again we didn’t take a second thought over what he was telling us because at the time we never knew what had been going on.

Jamie has denied saying he was going to breed her and that he was going to get her a female partner, but it is my belief that it has been stated that Cherry will not tolerate other female Eclectus’ (can anyone confirm or deny this).

After the course of the conversation and now knowing everything that we do, what do you think our belief is about what Cherry is intended for? And what do you personally think yourself?

(Cherry’s story will be coming soon which adds credence to everything that has happened to me so far. That is if her previous foster carer is willing to tell her side of the story, so please keep coming back.)

We then left Jamie’s and waited for JJ and Mylo to arrive the next day.

Early evening Saturday night I received an email from Pauline (at the bottom of post) telling me that the little green singing finch hadn’t arrived with her. Vikky had met her to hand over the birds that were destined for her only to be told that she is keeping the little green singing finch for herself, that she would be putting it in a cage with another bird.

So Vikky had stolen my little green singing finch that was destined for Pauline, for herself.

Who knows what went on in her mind for her to decide to take possession of my property as if it was her God given right, considering her and Jamie are both bird breeders/sellers and they knew how much these little finches where worth?

Easy to sell a cheap finch for a quick buck than a 1000 pound parrot don’t you think?

Both myself and Pauline were furious at what had just occurred. Pauline because she was expecting my little green singing finch as arranged which had now been ‘claimed’ (stolen) by Vikky, and me because Vikky had absolutely no right to take possession of my finch. Furthermore, because she had no thought about the birds welfare and wanted to stick it in a cage in her front room which was not what I wanted, and the only reason he was on his way to Pauline’s.

I really have not been as furious as I was Saturday evening in a long while over how Vikky had believed it her right to do what she wanted without the slightest thought of anyone else. It was as if me and Pauline meant nothing, and because the bird I wanted in Pauline’s aviary was now in Vikky’s front room in a small cage.

I didn’t know what to do or what to say about what had just happened and JJ and Mylo were on their way so I did nothing and allowed myself to calm down.

As I had heard nothing all day, I emailed Adele to find out whether JJ and Mylo were on their way. I then received a call from her half an hour before Jamie (UKPR driver) arrived, telling me that Mylo would be arriving alone as he and JJ had fought resulting in a nasty injury to JJ’s foot.

Shortly after this Jamie arrived with Mylo but said there was no cage for him despite Adele reassuring me that morning she would had said she would sort one for him.

After Jamie had left I rang Vikky to let her know that Mylo had arrived safely and to ask about the finch. She told me that she had decided to keep the finch for herself and was quite put out and abrupt with me when I said that I wanted him to go to Pauline as had been arranged. Snapping “FINE, FINE, Pauline can have him then!!”

Five minutes later she rang back stating I had called her a thief, (obviously after speaking to Jamie) and that she would call me the next day.

‘It’s only a finch’ was Vikky’s attitude.

Yes it might only be a little finch and not a big Cockatoo or something similar, but it is still a bird (as I hope everyone agrees), whose welfare was my responsibility. This contempt for my little finch shows that there is no concern for the welfare of birds on the part of the founder of UKPR the supposed bird rescue service. They are just possessions with monetary value over their heads.

Then the next day on the back of this situtation I posed the question of the cage that played out on the forum and can be read here: The infamous removed thread


Pauline's account

Caron and I had arranged, on the open forum, that I would have her lonely canary, which turned out to be a finch, and also a lonely canary that Alan had.
Jay offered to bring these down when he went to collect JJ and Mylo, and I was willing to collect them from Adele's.

Then Vikky phones me to say she's got them and will drop them off, we were off to Northampton (needed to buy a new PC) so we arranged to meet outside PC World. When we got there she handed me a cage with just the canary, so I asked if they were caged separately. She said 'yes, but I'm keeping the other one as a friend for whats-his-name (she has a canary, can't remember the name)'. I was so gobsmacked that by the time I took it in it was 'bye, see you later' and they were gone (Shell was with her).

The last time I saw that canary it was still in a budgie cage - I don't know whether it has been put into a bigger cage since. Even though this bird was on a pre-arranged journey from its' owner to the new home its' owner had chosen, Vikky thinks she has the right to just decide she is going to take him. Even though Caron had specifically stated on the forum that she wanted him in an aviary with others of his own kind, not in a budgie cage. And Vikky's angry reaction the next day when Roy collected him - 'I don't know what all the fuss is about - it's ONLY a finch'. She could not see that what she had done was wrong..... And I believe it was because Caron phoned her Sat night and said that she wanted the finch to go where it was supposed to, that Vikky turned against Caron.

Vikky also said to me in her defence (re the finch) that she thought it was a UKPR bird - personally I believe that even if it had been, she still would not have had the right to take a bird that was on a pre-arranged journey to a pre-arranged home.

Update: Courtesy of Midge

Well how interesting is all this?

I only spoke to Vicky once, and that was enough. I had been approached by someone who knew I had Too's and experience with them. I can never agree with the white Too's being bred and reared as pets, they are way too needy a bird to be someones toy for a while. But when I was asked if I could take on Pebbles, a so called GSCockatoo, I said I didnt need another Too, but was willing to speak to the woman whose number I was given.

I spoke to Vivky and told her who I was, and she said she had been waiting to hear from me. She told me all about Pebbles and seemed happy that I knew what I was doing with cockatoo's. Then I said but I really dont intend to 'donate'£150' to take him on. My exact words were, 'I dont need another cockatoo, but maybe Pebbles needs me' a deadly hush came over the phone, and then,'Oh, well we need to discuss this with(the person who first approached me) and I will get back to you'

I am so glad I didnt hold my breath, I was worried where the bird would end up, so asked around,he was homed with a UKPRmod, who had already had to give up one Too because he bit her and scared her!! and then poor Pebbles went on to someone else, where I pray he isnt used to breed, how many tame cockatoos die because some grasping moron wants to breed from them? and interestingly enough, if Pebbles was a GS, I would eat my hat!! and not even a hybrid, he is a Triton through and through.

Sorry, I had no intention on joining in on this, but stupidity and incompetence and birds being put second to greed and vanity totally leaves me steaming!!
Midge.