Fearing another attack, owner of killed emu finds new home for remaining birds
Shannon McCarrell still wakes up some days expecting to find her pet emus running around the large enclosure outside her rural Haldimand County home.
But the Fisherville-area property known to locals as “the bird house” is missing its signature residents after a break-in left McTavish — one of McCarrell’s emus — dead, prompting her to find a safer home for her remaining large birds.
McCarrell does not want to publicly reveal where she moved her three other emus and an ostrich last month. She fears another attack from whoever stole onto her property around 3 a.m. on March 13 and snapped McTavish’s neck after striking him over the head to stun him.
The intruders then dragged the 120-pound carcass to the centre of the enclosure, leaving the bloody mess for the family to discover in the morning.
“I rehomed (the birds) to a new, secure location where they would be safe,” McCarrell told The Spectator.
“I didn’t want (the intruders) to come back and do it again.”
The animal-loving veterinary technician said it was a heartbreaking decision to let her big birds leave the nest, even if it was for their own safety.
“I’ve had them all since they were two days old,” McCarrell said.
“The day I was rehoming them, my daughter just held me on the couch while I cried.”
The family is welcome to visit the birds at their new home, an offer McCarrell has taken up a few times, most recently on Tuesday.
“I called Fergus’s name, and she and Wallace immediately started doing their drumming (sound), because they were excited to see me,” McCarrell said, referring to two of the emus.
“They seem happy.”
There have been no further disturbances at McCarrell’s home — which she and her husband, Matt, call Mizfit Farms because of the eclectic collection of furry and winged animals who have found refuge there over the years.
The two assailants who allegedly killed two-year-old McTavish were captured by a security camera. McCarrell sent the footage to police, along with photos of the crime scene.
In an email, an OPP spokesperson told The Spectator the animal cruelty investigation is ongoing but no suspects have been identified.
Anyone with information can call the detachment at 1-888-310-1122 or submit an anonymous tip through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or helpsolvecrime.com.
While the family waits for justice for their beloved pet, neighbours have rallied behind them.
“Everybody in the community’s been really angry that anyone would do something like that. And they’ve been really supportive,” McCarrell said, mentioning one neighbour who turned up at her door with a dozen doughnuts and words of sympathy.
“She said, ‘I’m so sorry to hear what happened. My husband and I loved watching your birds.’”
McCarrell suspects the assailants targeted her farm, as the assault took place on the first night the emus and Duncan the ostrich slept outside due to the warmer spring weather.
She has added more security cameras since the attack.
After years of blissful country living, the family now locks their doors at night.
“Which isn’t a nice feeling,” McCarrell said.
“Somebody reached out and offered me a baby emu. And I was so tempted to take it. But I can’t, right? What if they come back?”
J.P. Antonacci, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Hamilton Spectator
