City wants 200-300 birds out of home

AURORA, Ill., Oct. 25 (UPI) -- Officials in an Illinois city said crews will remove 200 to 300 pet birds from a man's home if he does not remove the birds himself.

Aurora officials said they received an order from Kane County Circuit Court authorizing them to begin clearing the birds out of Dave Skeberdis's home at 10 a.m. Friday if he does not abide by orders to get rid of his pets, The (Aurora) Beacon-News reported Thursday.

City Attorney Alayne Weingartz said Skeberdis said he plans to "take care of it himself" to avoid being hit with a $13,478 cleanup bill.

Rosario DeLeon, city chief operations officer, said the exact number of birds is unknown, as firefighters have only entered the home once.

Skerberdis acknowledged his love of birds has gotten out of hand.

"I think everybody is a bit of a hoarder, but this got out of control," he said. "I've got civil rights, too, and I don't need someone strong-arming me to get someone to clean it."