How NOT to run an animal rescue:
The sad case of the New England Exotic Bird Sanctuary (NEEBS)

The birds at NEEBS lived in their own filth. The owner of the sanctuary, Robinn Nollett, refused on principal to adopt out these "rescued" birds because she thought moving to a new home would be too stressful. More stressful than this?

Imagine having only these filthy dishes for food and water. That was life for birds at NEEBS.

Robinn Nollett kept the NEEBS birds in darkened rooms with the windows covered—perhaps so no one passing by could see how bad her "sanctuary" was.

All photos are from the New England Exotic Bird Shame website. Used with permission.

by Rosemary Amey
July 3, 2005

I recently learned about the tragic case of the New England Exotic Bird Sanctuary (NEEBS), operated by Robinn Nollett.

Their website looked pretty good. It stated that NEEBS' goal is to give the birds "habitats ... that are big enough that even though they are in captivity, they won't much notice." NEEBS even fed only organic food.

But look a little more closely. They said they aren't open to visitors "yet". There were very few photos of birds at the sanctuary.

Not only that, but NEEBS had unrealistic policies of taking in every bird brought to them, and keeping every bird at the sanctuary forever. They would not adopt out birds to anyone, because "the people who leave their birds with us do so because they know the birds will be staying here. They don't want their birds sent from one home to another. We agree! Birds need consistency, so we offer them a permanent home, and we never sell or place anybirdy."

Usually, no-kill shelters have to turn away animals because there are just so many animals in need. Shelters that have to take in every animal brought to them (such as municipal shelters) have to make great efforts to find homes for as many animals as possible, and often end up euthanizing healthy animals due to lack of space.

By taking in every bird, and never adopting out any of them, NEEBS ended up with about 200 birds. It's not clear from their site how many volunteers (if any) were helping out Robinn Nollett. NEEBS had more birds than any person could care for adequately, let alone provide with huge enclosures.

The tragic result is shown in the New England Exotic Bird Shame page. Dozens of graphic photos show birds confined to cages encrusted with filth, with only dirty brown water to drink. The cages are kept in darkened rooms with the windows constantly covered (to keep passersby from seeing what's inside?). The building (and at least one of the cages) is covered in thick dusty cobwebs.

In late 2001, two people independently reported NEEBS to the MSPCA. The MSPCA gave Robinn Nollett time to clean up before inspecting. They ordered her to install lights and uncover the windows; but according to a witness, as soon as the MSPCA was gone Nollett removed the lights and covered the windows again.

In 2003, the photos shown at the New England Exotic Bird Shame site were taken. MSPCA was sent the photos but (according to NEEBShame) did nothing.

In late 2004, the Board of Health inspected the "sanctuary" and declared it unfit for human habitation. They complied with Nollett's request that they not take photos of the birds.

The Gabriel Foundation was asked to take in the NEEBS birds, but in November 2004 it was discovered that Robinn Nollett and the birds had disappeared. Their current whereabouts is unknown.

200 birds can't disappear forever, however. At some point Robinn Nollett will have to start fundraising again. And when she does, let's hope that people spot the danger signals and get help for those birds.

New England Exotic Bird Sanctuary: the NEEBS site, which according to the home page has not been updated in over a year. It does not mention the controversy.

New England Exotic Bird Shame: website with many graphic photos telling the story of the so-called New England Exotic Bird Sanctuary (NEEBS).

The Hoarding of Animals Research Consortium at Tufts University.

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