A parrot has been ruffling a few feathers in the Highlands after causing what is said to be thousands of pounds’ worth of damage to vehicles.
Dozens of Inverness residents are frustrated with the pesky parakeet, which seems to have been stripping rubber from cars over the past few months.
People have resorted to putting covers over their vehicles to prevent more damage, but they are hopeful for a more permanent solution.
Angus Chisholm told STV News: “It would be nice if it was collected humanely and taken away.
“Obviously, it’s a domesticated bird so somebody could look after it.
“Putting a cover over your car is a solution but every time you go out, you’ve got to take the cover off and it’s not ideal.
“So now my car is so badly damaged. I’m not sure it could do anymore damage, so I’m just leaving it until I change my car and then I’ll get it fixed.
“By which time it’ll be resolved, hopefully.”
People have called in animal charities but no one has been able to stop the bird.
Other residents have resorted to more novel solutions.
Roger Eddie said: “This is the first one – Mr Snake. We put him on the dashboard and we’ve got another one on the other side with the eyes facing out.
STV News“He’s not bitten anything since we put the snakes up.
“The other solution is peppermint oil along the rubber – they don’t like the taste of the peppermint oil.”
It’s unclear whether the bird is an escaped pet or a wild animal with conflicting views from authorities.
A Highland Council spokesperson said: “As parakeets are wild birds, it would not be a matter for our Environmental Health team to comment on.”
A spokesperson for NatureScot said: “Wild birds, such as crows and rooks will sometimes eat or dismantle windscreen wipers.
“In such cases, NatureScot can give advice on actions people can take to avoid damage to their property, such as covering their car or preventing the bird seeing its reflection.
“As this parakeet is almost certain to be an escaped pet, it is not protected by the law in the same way as a wild bird.
“This means that someone can legally catch it and keep it as a pet or rehome it if they wished.
“Retrieving escaped pets and zoo animals is the owner’s responsibility.
“NatureScot can assist the owner or members of the local community to catch escaped animals by providing advice or lending them traps.
“However, we would only act ourselves to prevent an invasive non-native species new to Scotland from becoming established.”
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