Finches filched: Strathroy-area business owner says theft worth thousands
It's not your typical break and enter theft, with hundreds of exotic birds taken from a Strathroy area business.
The owner says the value of the birds taken is about $25,000, and it will be difficult to recover from that loss.
Pete Van Erp has various types of birds in his aviary, but specializes in hatching and raising finches, including African, Australian and zebra finches.
Van Erp says when he and his daughter went into the aviary on Jan. 18, they realized gates were open and birds were missing.
"Big cages that should have had 40 birds each and they were completely empty. I realized something was up."Red-headed Gouldian finches at Pete Van Erp Aviaries, Jan. 24, 2022. (Gerry Dewan / CTV News)Van Erp, 79, and his wife Laurene started raising birds when they were first married in 1964. She passed last year but her picture remains at the entranceway to the aviary.
Pete used the birds as a way to rebound from the loss, hoping to continue with their shared passion.
"The competition really. Like, we go to bird shows all over. The last two years have been a disaster because of the virus."
The theft has compounded the challenges he faces. He believes the thieves may have been in the aviary just days before the finches were taken, surveying where the most prized were. He says they appeared to know what they were looking for.
"They went for all the good stuff, like the expensive birds."Red-headed star finches at Pete Van Erp Aviaries. Jan. 24, 2022. (Gerry Dewan / CTV News)Van Erp admits it will be difficult to get the birds back but says two things are working in his favour. One, the birds were wearing closed bands and those band numbers have been recorded.
“Closed bands mean made out of steel. They go on the leg before the babies are 10 days old... Those bands are very hard to remove.”
The second thing Van Erp has going for him is a tight-knit community of bird enthusiasts who are now on the lookout for his birds.
"I got a call last night from Alberta, the day before from Winnipeg, all over Ontario."
Middlesex OPP has launched an investigation into the theft but Van Erp says insurance won't cover the loss of birds.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Alice Munro, Nobel literature winner revered as short story master, dead at 92
Nobel laureate Alice Munro, the Canadian literary giant who became one of the world's most esteemed contemporary authors and one of history's most honoured short story writers, has died at age 92.
Latest updates on air quality alerts, and when the smoke may reach Ontario and Quebec
Wildfires have led Environment Canada to issue air quality advisories for parts of B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories, as forecasters warn the smoke could drift farther east.
Are these Canada's best restaurants? Annual top 100 list revealed
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
Attack on prison van in France kills 2 officers, inmate escapes
Armed assailants killed two French prison officers and seriously wounded three others in an attack on a convoy in Normandy on Tuesday and an inmate escaped, officials said.
Steal a car, lose your driver's licence for 10 years under new Ontario proposal
Repeat car thieves may face lengthy licence bans under proposed changes to Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act.
$1.6B parts plant for Honda electric vehicle batteries coming to Niagara Region
A Japanese company has announced it will build an approximately $1.6-billion plant in Ontario's Niagara Region that will make a key electric vehicle battery component as part of Honda's supply chain in the province.
B.C. brings in law on name changes on day that child killer's new identity revealed
The BC NDP have tabled legislation aimed at stopping people who have committed certain heinous acts from changing their names.
Manitoba premier to visit areas impacted by wildfire
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew will get a close-up look at the devastation from a large wildfire burning in northern Manitoba Tuesday.
1 killed, 3 injured including toddler, after Hwy. 417 crash in Ottawa
Ontario Provincial Police are responding to a fatal collision involving two vehicles on Highway 417 in Ottawa's west end on Tuesday morning.