The UKPR Heavies who threaten bird owners

The UKPR heavies who were sent to a womans home to impound and transport a sick rescue bird (Mylo the Military Macaw) on behalf of Vikky the UKPR founder.

I wouldnt want to be a woman 'home alone' with these two knocking on my front door demanding for the re-homed bird in my care would you?

Update: Charlotte Smith's story below

Update: Fred's story below

This morning started with a call from Northamptonshire police saying that I had to give Mylo back to Vikky and that she would be coming to collect.

I sat back and thought that there wasn’t really much more I could do now that the police had said I had to give him back. However, as someone who is passionate about birds with a vulnerable bird in my care, I thought he hasn’t gone from me yet so there is still a fight left for his future.

Would you fight for your rescued bird no matter how hard or for how long, or sit back and allow him/her to be returned to Vikky and the home he had just been removed from?

An hour later Jamie pulled up outside my driveway in his van, to collect Mylo (the same Jamie who last night, said he had now stood down from UKPR). After all of the threats of violence and intimidation I received last night on the ‘Who are UKPR? Thread’ from this same person. It was quite clear he would not be coming into my home and that Mylo would not be leaving as per the police conversation this morning stating that Vikky would be coming to collect him.

Knock, Knock, Knock… and there was Jamie standing at my door with his dog crate. Paul went down and told him he is not taking Mylo because he will not be leaving here today unless Vikky comes and collects him herself, or the police phone and tell us we have no alternative but to release him to Jamie.

Off he trots to his van leaving his dog crate behind and starts making his phone calls.

At this point it was noticed he was not alone as the picture above shows, so it is quite clear that he had arrived at my home to try and impound Mylo for UKPR mob handed. After the nasty threats of violence last night it wasn’t a nice situation to find myself in, so can empathise with all of those people who have experienced the exact same scenario at the hands of these people.

I know there are other people out there reading this who have had the same happen to them so please share your stories anonymously if you wish, so that those who are now looking will eventually be able to see that this is not an isolated incident. Please, please do not be scared or intimidated by these people. You’re innocent bird lovers not violent criminals so do not deserve to be treated this way by what is supposed to be a bird rescue service.

The welfare of the bird that is in your care is paramount. Together we can and will defend their rights to be protected.

From our own personal encounter and the stories other people have shared so far, threats of violence and intimidation from UKPR workers so that they get their own way over the lives of innocent rescued birds that have been signed into their care seems to be common practice and why this now needs to stop.

The evidence is piling up.

Jamie then sat outside in his van talking on his mobile phone, while we waited to see what was going to happen next from him, or receive the call from Northamptonshire police so that we could point out that in no uncertain terms that Mylo would not be travelling with Jamie today.

During this time, I was reading all of the supportive emails and comments flooding in through this blog, and thankfully, which was a God send at the time that this happened, a kind and caring rescuer from down south (don’t know if I can mention his name) contacted me asking to speak on the phone. He is very knowledgeable about the legal aspects of Mylo now being in my care and stated in no uncertain terms that Mylo was a civil matter not criminal matter so there was nothing the police could do, and tell them that Mylo would not be leaving this house today.


Then all of a sudden I noticed out of the window, Jamie emerge from his van and walk across the path while a police car pulled up.

They had now called the police in to demand their bird back because the bully boy tactics were not going to work today.

Jamie was told he is not coming into the house, and the police officer was invited in shortly after accompanied by her collegue who where then told our side of events. This included some of the stories already shared here to highlight the fact that this is not a fight over the ownership of Mylo this is a fight over the dodgy dealings of UKPR.

The two officers then left to speak with Jamie to hear his side of events and to call through to their sergeant to determine the best course of action over this incident.

Upon glancing out of the window and finding it quite unbelievable that Jamie would be sitting outside my house waiting for the police to impound Mylo, the violent threats he made on here came to mind so it was decided that if he wants to call the police on me, then he should have a taste of his own medicine based on the written evidence on this blog.

My partner quickly went outside to speak with the police dealing with events to make a complaint of the section 4 offence being committed against me, and invite him to view the evidence. Whilst this was going on I received another comment that is at the bottom of this post from another person who has been through a similar experience with UKPR and stated that they too had been threatened to have their “face smashed in” by UKPR associates.

This just supported the section 4 complaint that I was making, so after I had shown my partner he went back out and told the officer about it so as to point out these are not isolated claims but a pattern of UKPR behaviour which IS criminality so should be investigated.

In some peoples eyes it might only be pet birds, but as all bird lovers know, in the eyes of those who have them as pets they are more than just birds, they are a part of the family, like children. Anyone breaking the law to harm these pets or their owners should face the consequences of their actions through the law of the land that is in place to protect animals and people.

Why should Jamie the UKPR worker not face the consequences of his actions?

Nobody should be silenced from doing or saying what is right through threats of violence and intimidation.

That being the case.. Jamie got a taste of his own medicine.

In the process of the two officers working out what should be done over the possession of Mylo, I was on the phone to the RSPCA detailing Mylo’s plight and UKPR’s fight to take possession of him.

When the officers returned they agreed that the best place for Mylo at this moment in time was here with me until the RSPCA had investigated everything and decided what they believed would be the best course of action for Mylo.

Once that was settled, I pointed out that I wanted action taken against Jamie’s threats through this blog and the abusive threatening phone calls received last night. It was decided that he should receive a ‘harrassment warning’, cautioning him over his actions and stating that he would be arrested if he came anywhere near me or tried contacting me in anyway, either directly or indirectly.

So UKPR arrived this morning mob handed, that didn’t work so they called in reinforcements (the police), and that didn’t work, then they themselves left with a written police caution for their actions.

Foster parents remember, those who want to take birds that are in your care from your possession must first get past you, who has the best interests and welfare of the birds in your care at heart.

What would the authorities do to a human fostering organisation that acted like UKPR do?

They would be shut down, hauled before a court and imprisoned where possible.

Why should pet birds be any different?






Courtesy of Charlotte Smith

I became a member of UKPR sometime last year. It seemed like a fantastic concept to be able to chat to people with the same interest in parrots as well as the combined knowledge of everyone.

I first started to feel confused with UKPR's attitude or shall we say certain members attitude when one of the moderators was outted for trying to think of the birds best interests but didn't feel that I could defend this member for fear of having my account blocked.

I continued to log on daily and then, one day in Ocotber last year, I had a phone call from my vet asking if I would like to rehome an Alexandrine Parakeet now known as Lexi. She gave me the owner's contact number and so I decided to give it a go.

Now, I have an almost 2 year old daughter as well as 2 cockatoos, so my days were already awfully full. So, naturally, I felt concerned that I may not be able to devote enough time to Lexi and I made the owner's completely aware of this saying that we would give it a go for a few weeks or so to see if Lexi would settle with us and to see if I could handle another bird.

Obviously, being a member of UKPR, I did go onto the forum and tell them all that I might take on another bird and, if things didn't go right, I may want to rehome him via UKPR. I also made the owner's aware that this may happen and that I would always leave the end decision to them.

They already had worries about UKPR, having already spoken to Vikky. They said that they had fears Lexi would be sold to a breeder and believed he would be pushed from pillar to post. At the time I reassured the, telling them that the decision was theirs.

I had a day of cold feet - could I really give up more time - again I went onto the UKPR forum to get one of the moderator's phone number, purely to discuss the ins and outs of having him rehomed if he didn't settle. This is where the problems started.

I never phoned the moderator in the end and Lexi was dropped off by his owners. Everyone was happy until the next morning when the same moderator I had planned to speak to called me. She told me that she'd tried to call me the previous night and that she was worried Lexi's owner might come knocking on the door. She told me that the owners called her saying that they now wanted him to be rehomed via UKPR and that, if I didn't comply, one of Lexi's owners had threatened to 'smash my face in'. Initially this really scared me and I told my partner, who phoned Lexi's owner which only made things worse.

In the end I called the owner back and apologised for all of the hassle. They couldn't understand what had happened, thinking that everything was sorted only to get a phone call from the same UKPR woman they'd spoken to before.saying that I wanted him rehomed. Now completely confused I asked them what they wanted me to do. I never said that I would definately rehome him so, did they want hm to stay with me? They always happy for him to stay here but were thrown off course by the moderator's phonecall.

With the decision made I emailed the moderator telling her that the owner's wanted him to stay put. I admit now that I didn't want to speak to her on the phone. I felt so angry and stressed by the fuss she'd caused. She did call and spoke to my partner. She hung up on him in the end and all of my aquaintances that have spoken with her have said that she's unprofessional and rude. I have, since then, avoided the UKPR forum and would urge others to do the same.

......................................................................

Courtesy of Fred

When Charlotte told me that there was now a website where people were sending their stories about UKPR I felt I had to get my side of the story to you to back up Charlotte's side. Charlotte called me at work to let me know that the vet had called about rehoming Lexi and I was happy for him to come and live with us. Charlotte was excited to be taking on Lexi as we had recently lost our little Hahns, Jack to coccidia. She spoke to Lexi's owners, Alice and Dan (not real names), in the evening and mentioned to them that we may not have the time to give Lexi and, if things didn't go as planned, how did they feel about us rehoming him through UKPR. They had their worries, especially Dan, who had spoken to Vikky and felt that she wasn't as genuine as she liked to make out. He said that she had a smoker's cough and a rude phone manner. He felt she would push Lexi from pillar to post without any real care for him. Now, Charlotte had never spoken to Vikky but, having been a part of UKPR for around 6 months, she told Alice and Dan that she believed that only the bird's best interests were at heart and that he would go to a home that was right for him. Charlotte even told them that she would be happy to keep them informed every step of the way if it did come to rehoming Lexi.

On the day that Lexi arrived Charlotte started to worry more about Lexi's wellbeing and whether we could cater for another bird. She voiced her concerns on the UKPR forum and everyone was supportive. She asked for Vikky's number but never called because, once Lexi arrived, we all fell in love with him and decided that we could give him as good a home as any.

Lexi took to us as well as we did to him which was great and he settled in brilliantly. Charlotte went onto the forum and told everyone that we would be keeping him, and everyone seemed pleased by this decision. At 10.30pm our phone was rining and we were in bed so no one answered. The next morning Charlotte was called by Vikky who told us that Alice and Dan wanted Lexi rehomed through UKPR and that she would be collecting him on Monday as she had another Alexandrine to pair him up with. Charlotte told her that she thought he was staying but Vikky told her again that Alice and Dan wanted him rehomed and that, if Charlotte refused to hand Lexi over, Dan had threatened to come round to smash her face in. Now thoroughly concerned I called Dan who was adament that he hadn't said such a thing and I'll admit that I didn't help the situation being angry that someone had threatened my partner. We talked the situation over amongst ourselves and Charlotte eventually agreed to call Alice.

Alice seemed as confused as us saying that Vikky had called at 10pm the night before to tell them Charlotte felt it would be best to rehome Lexi. She told us that Dan had been furious as Charlotte had seemed happy enough to keep Lexi and he felt she'd misled them. Charlotte explained that she was happy for him to stay put and had been since he'd arrived. She then asked Alice what they wanted her to do. Did they want Lexi to go with UKPR or to stay here with us? They wanted him to stay and so the decision was made.

Charlotte didn't want to speak to Vikky having heard plenty of stories about Vikky's reactions to plan changes so she emailed Vikky explaining the situation and apologising for any inconvinience. Vikky called and I spoke to her. I told her that we'd never asked for her involvment and yet she seemed to think that we had. She shouted at me about how she'd put so much work into tramsporting Lexi and rehoming him. She is the rudest and most unprofessional preson I have ever spoken to and I was happy to tell her so on the phone. She hung up on me.

Half an hour later Alice called to tell us that Dan had spoken to Vikky who had also hung up on him.

The point is that despite having come to decisions with the owners, decisions that the owners had made themselves, there should never have been a problem. The only reason that problems arose is because Vikky brought it upon herself to get involved and then forced her opinion onto others. After hearing Vikky's opinion about other ex-member's 'people skills' or lack of, I would like to say that the only person lacking people skills is Vikky.

I'm happy for you to post my story along with Charlotte's and hope that it's of some use.

Fred