Baby emus rescued from bedroom pigsty by police

A pair of four-month-old emus were rescued from filthy conditions in a home near Alice Springs in Australia’s Northern Territory by police on Saturday.



Police were tipped off the emus were being kept in the bedroom of a property in Hermannsburg, 127km west of Alice Springs. Duty Superintendent Del Jones said when officers arrived at the house they found the emus surrounded by animal faeces.

She said the owner brought the emus from Western Australia and intended to keep them as pets. Sergeant Melissa Sanderson and Constable Sam Hyson discovered the owner did not have a permit to keep the native animals. Police seized the emus and kept them in the cells of Hermannsburg police station until carers from animal welfare group Wildcare arrived.



Wildcare carer Kym George said the emus were being fed “appropriate nutrition” and allowed to run around in open spaces She said Wildcare rehabilitated native animals to return them to the wild. One of the emus had suffered injuries. Superintendent Jones said investigations were ongoing.