Veterinarian pleads guilty in death of parrot

[Lisa B]

Veterinarian pleads guilty in death of parrot

By MATT PAIS
GANNETT NEW JERSEY
HOWELL — One of two veterinarians charged with animal cruelty after the death of a parrot has pleaded guilty.
Mahmoud Hussein, 39, admitted in Municipal Court on Wednesday that he failed to provide adequate sustenance and shelter to a Conure parrot that died outside the Howell Veterinary Clinic on Oct. 20, said Victor "Buddy" Amato, chief of the Monmouth County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

The bird, named Tickles, was kept in an unheated entryway of the Fort Plains Road office and was found dead after temperatures dipped into the 40s, Amato said.

"The bird was kept there despite the objections of staff members," Amato said. "A parrot can't handle that kind of cold. They're tropical animals."

Those staff members initiated the complaint against Hussein when the bird was found dead, Amato said.

Hussein was ordered by Judge Alan Kaplan to pay a $1,000 fine, Amato said, and the state Board of Veterinary Medicine will have the option to review his license to practice.

A second doctor associated with the practice - Mohamed R. El-Banna, 66, - has also been charged with animal cruelty, Amato said. That charge will be heard at an upcoming court date.

An employee answering the telephone at the clinic Thursday said the doctors declined comment.

[magni1]

Thats good to hear.

[magni1]

I hope they take there license away

[Tudorbug]

Conures can handle temperatures much colder than 40 degrees, including below freezing with snow and wind. Read "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill" by Mark Bittner based on a flock of cherry headed and blue crowned conures living wild in San Franciso. But they can do this only if they live outdoors and have acclimated with declining temperatures.

Not if they are taken from a warm home, say in the low 70's and left in a much colder, unheated space in the 40 degrees, particularly if they are ill to begin with.

Another sad report and this time about people who should know better.

David