A prized bird was ‘stuffed down a man’s shorts’ and stolen from a pet shop, before being ‘returned by a woman in a balaclava’ the next day.
The beloved kakariki – worth up to £150 – was nabbed from Animalistic Pets in Henlow last Friday.
CCTV from the shop shows a man and a woman breaking into the aviary before he stuffs it down his grey shorts.
The shop issued a desperate appeal on social media for the rare bird to be reunited with her ‘distressed’ kakariki boyfriend.
The next day a different woman in a balaclava returned in a cage to the shop.
The kakariki, up for sale alongside her partner were sitting in their cage when CCTV stills, posted by the shop online, appear to show a man and a female accomplice walking in to the shop.
He seems to have crawled into the bird cage and then walked away holding the bird stuffed down his shorts. The woman, in a bucket hat, walks behind him as they leave the shop.
The remaining bird and Animalistic’s staff were devastated.
Manager of the shop Becky Norris told Metro: ‘I am gutted, I have cried so many times.
‘While we have the animals here we love them.
‘It is a living breathing animal, time was off the essence, so we put out an appeal on Facebook.
‘Her mate has been very unhappy, very distressed. He was calling out, pacing up and down, frantically flying backwards and forwards and calling frantically.
‘Although there are other birds in the bird room, they are not his species.’
The shop’s appeal for information, with the CCTV stills, on Facebook went viral in the local area.
The next day, staff were back in Animalistic Pets when a figure dressed in all black and wearing a balaclava, returned the bird in a cage.
Staff did not believe the woman was the same as the lady who entered the shop the day before.
The shop manager said it was a ‘very weird day’ and that the bird was returned in a ‘broken, battered, dirty cage’.
Becky added: ‘I could not believe it when the staff said she was back. I checked it was her and it was. Everyone nearly burst into tears.
‘She is very tatty, missing most of her tail feathers. I do know if she has had proper food and water. She is quiet subdued.
‘Her mate is now a lot happier too.’
The kakarikis, which are ‘sociable and intelligent’ indoor birds, are now back up for sale at Animalistic Pets.
Bedfordshire Police told Metro: ‘We were called just before 10:20am on Friday (21 March) to a report of a bird being taken from a pet shop in Hitchin Road, Henlow.
‘The bird was returned to the shop the following day. Enquiries into the incident are ongoing.’
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