Yet another shameful UKPR episode

Courtesy of an ex-UKPR member

(If you feel as we do, that a complaint should be lodged to have UKPR investigated by the relevant authorities, then please keep this email in mind and in due course, once we have compiled all of the relevant information on this blog, we can push for action to be undertaken)

Greetings,

You are more than welcome to post this on your site if you think it helpful. I shall try to keep this story factual in the hopes that it can be of genuine use.

For a brief time in the fall of 2008 I was an emergency carer for UKPR. During that time I cared for 5 birds, two of which were canaries that lived in my home for four weeks during October/November of 2008. These birds arrived at my house in fairly decent shape. There was a lizard canary and a larger yellow one. The larger bird had a wound healing on the banded leg and a scab under the eye on the same side of its body. Both wounds were clean and infection free, healing well.

I watched these birds carefully, medicating the larger one as I had been instructed to do by the ACO. Feeding them a good diet. I watched their condition improve and they were living in harmony singing in the morning. Certainly a sign of wellbeing.

Then for unrelated reasons I was banned from UKPR and Vikky demanded that I return the canaries to emergency carers still in her good graces living on the other side of my town. At that time I noticed that the larger one was tearing a bit from the injured eye and I emailed her saying I would return the birds after I had taken them to the vet. I was very surprised to get a frantic email from her admonishing me to return the birds, not to take it to the vet and if I did, warning me that she would not pay for their care. Knowing, as I did, that she had never laid eyes on the birds and had no clue of their condition, I emailed her back saying, not to worry. I would gladly pay for the bird’s care and I was taking it to the vet as I thought it prudent.

The vet looked the bird over and pronounced it in excellent shape; The leg healing well and that there was a scab under the eye that would need watching. I then brought the canaries to the E/Cs where I was asked to drop them. I explained exactly what the vet said and how to care for the birds. Once again, they were in good shape at the time excepting the scab under the eye of the larger one.

The next thing I heard of the canaries was that Vikky posted on the UKPR site that the canaries had been brought to UKPR in bad shape. That the larger one had been brought to them with only one eye and the smaller was attacking it so they two had to be separated.

I was physically sick after I read this. Those animals were healthy and doing well when they left my home and I have the vet’s written dated report that proves it!

Vikky and UKPR were a source of real anxiety to me in Autumn 2008. Largely because I was deeply concerned about her plans to rehome a severely traumatised bird that was in my care. Vikky planned to hand the bird to a fosterer that had a huge number of birds and as well as dogs. Vikky herself had written in the bird’s overview, that he had lived in a home where dogs were encouraged to attack the bird’s cage and he needed a very quiet environment. After I voiced these concerns to Vikky, I was insulted and banned from the site.

I was hearing some very worrying stories about UKPR and after Vikky ranted at me I decided to refuse to take her phone calls. I haven’t the faintest idea why she thought I would subject myself to such abuse? But, I believe that this policy is the key reason I have not had the type of experience others are reporting on this site. If Vikky wanted to rant at me, she had to email me. And that means there is a long paper trail of crazy, mean spirited vitriol. I would not be bullied and I was at the point of having my attorney contact her when she stopped harassing me. I think she probably took a moment and read over some of what she wrote, and decided it was perhaps prudent to desist.

I have done some due diligence on UKPR and turned up the following additional facts.

1) The registration on the UKPR web site is held by Vikky privately;

2a) There is no company registered at companies house that resolve as UKPR or UK Parrot Rescue;

2b) Nor is there a registered charity called UKPR; That means she is accepting ‘donations’ which potentially should be classed as income.

The Charity Commission has commented that under the terms of the Charity acts of 1993 (as amended by the charities act 2006), a private person is not permitted to receive donations. What she is doing may be fraud. Perhaps if others had documentable evidence of this they could forward that information to this address.

Perhaps the weight of numbers will cause action?

Office of Public Sector Information
Charity Commission Direct
PO Box 1227
Liverpool
L6 3UG

Remember to quote the Charity act of 1993 when writing.

Best regards,

PS If useful I can have the vet's report scanned at my office an emailed to you. Pleae let me know.