Two-and-a-half months after 57 pigeons were found abandoned in a rest area dumpster near the Wolcott exit on Interstate 65, 88 more pigeons were found crammed into sealed boxes at the same location.
Wildlife rehabilitator Kim Hoover, who led efforts to ensure the earlier group of sick and starving birds found places to recover, says she never thought she would see this again.
“But you know what, this is a story—it’s one for the record books, I’m telling you,” Hoover says.
After the same rest area attendant found the boxed up birds and called Hoover in the early hours of February 28th, she went to pick up the additional pigeons—then put out another call for help.
“And I just set there and cried, because I’m thinking—how many times are other centers going to help me, and this isn’t even my ordeal," Hoover says. "This has got to stop.”
Hoover was able to place the majority of the pigeons at rehab centers in Illinois and Indiana. She says after sharing a Facebook post about the plight of the new group, pigeon enthusiasts from across the country contacted her to express their belief this is not indicative of how the birds are typically treated by their owners.
Hoover also says both flocks wore the same leg bands bearing the name and contact information of an Ohio man. Attempts to reach him were unsuccessful.
