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Parrot dies after torture at hands of Turkish TV personality
Parrot dies after torture at hands of Turkish TV personality
Feeling "outrage toward all men" in his last moments, a parrot has died after being tortured by a controversial TV personality that had triggered a public outcry. Click through for the story in photos...
Murat Özdemir, who had competed in the Turkish version of Masterchef, was detained late Dec. 17 after police raided his home in the Beşiktaş neighborhood late Dec. 17.
The police raid followed hundreds of complaints on social media after Özdemir shared a video showing him mistreating his parrot, Mesut Bahtiyar (Happy Fortunate), whom he had named after the alter ego of iconic Turkish singer Zeki Müren.
Özdemir was sent to a mental institute for mandatory rehabilitation, while the parrot was hospitalized with broken wings and legs, as well as a dislocated shoulder and wounds in the tissues in his head.
Serhat Özsoy, a professor and the head of Istanbul University’s wild animals’ health department, told Demirören News Agency on Dec. 20 that the African grey parrot suffered from “a lot of pain.”
After an hour-long medical operation, Mesut Bahtiyar was taken into intensive care where he was fed and medicated.
African grey parrots are a wild species and the experts stress that they are extremely sensitive to external stimulus.
“We watched from television that this parrot’s owner has been harshly behaving toward him. This is why the animal developed a deep irritation against all men. We have tested it and saw that he feels outrage especially toward men,” the professor added.
Mesut Bahtiyar, who was taken under the protection of Turkey’s Wild Life Protection and National Parks Directorate, died later on Dec. 20.
Animal rights activists want Özdemir to remain under arrest after the mental rehabilitation as well.
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