NORTH HOLLYWOOD : City Regulators Remove Birds From Home

Animal regulators came to the conclusion that a large, ramshackle house in North Hollywood wasn’t even for the birds, and so they confiscated several hundred peacocks, peahens, pigeons and macaws Thursday that were crammed into outdoor cages or running loose through an elderly woman’s home.

Animal control officers--it took about 10, in gloves and masks, to remove and impound the whole flock--said in recent days it was unclear if the birds had been fed, given water or adequately shielded from the heat. The house, they said, is in severe disrepair.

“The birds are in cages or just running loose in and out of the house,” said Michael Burns, a district supervisor with the Los Angeles City Department of Animal Regulation. “It’s a mess. I don’t know if there’s running water, there are piles of rubbish and trash in the house, you can see through portions of the ceiling.”

Burns said the bird tale began more than a year ago, when neighbors in the 7900 block of Atoll Avenue complained about the loud caws of the peacocks.

Upon inspection, Burns said, regulators determined that many of the roughly 500 birds were being kept too close to neighboring houses and each other, but that there was no inhumane treatment. The house, Burns said, sits on a large lot with enough space for the animals.

After several follow-up inspections, he said, the birds’ keeper, Richard Long, brought his makeshift sanctuary up to code.

But several weeks ago, Long ran afoul of the law on another matter, Burns said, and left his pets and elderly mother for a stint in jail. By the end of last week, inspectors determined that the woman, whom Burns identified as Lucille Lockwood, was unable to care for the birds.

Burns said he was unsure why Long was keeping the birds.

“It could have been anything,” Burns said. “Sometimes people start a hobby and it gets out of hand.”

The birds are being kept at a city facility and at the nonprofit Wildlife Waystation in the Angeles National Forest. Burns said officials have not determined whether they will file criminal charges.