A bird sanctuary in Manatee County that works to rescue hundreds of exotic birds is now in need of some rescuing itself.
Birds of Paradise Sanctuary and Rescue provides a home to more than 140 unwanted, abused and neglected cockatoos and parrots from across the country.
Executive director Debbie Huckaby said the sanctuary is being forced to move from its location in Palmetto.
“The owner wants to develop,” Huckaby said. “He would not take our rent money this month, and so I’m expecting a letter of eviction any time now.”
Huckaby said the sanctuary found a new home in East Bradenton off of Waterline Road. She said staffers are now in the process of moving over the birds to the 6-acre piece of property. She said it used to be an old tree farm and is a better fit.
But the new location comes with a price.
“We’re looking at about $5,000 a month minimum," Huckaby said. "That includes their food, our mortgage, incidentals and vet care.”
She said her group is currently building a new aviary for the parrots on the new property.
Construction should be finished in a little more than a week. However, a lack of funding is delaying the construction of an aviary for the cockatoos.
“We are trying to move forward the best we can,” said Huckaby. “But we are at a struggling point right now. We need the funds to complete the structures so we can move the birds off the Palmetto property. There are still about 100 birds over there.”
Huckaby said they’re now reaching out to the community for help.
In addition to the need for funding, the sanctuary also needs volunteers to help with all of the feathered friends there.
“We not only need help financially, but volunteers, people who can come in and help us renovate the adoption center,” she said.
Huckaby said the help is needed to continue to provide a forever home to all of these birds, that have a chance of living their lives in a natural habitat instead of a small cage.
In addition to caring for abused and unwanted exotic birds, the sanctuary also adopts some of the birds out.