By Charlotte Reid 
Martin and Leisa are asking the public for help in finding the birds.
“I don’t have children of my own; to me, they are my children. I raised them, and they slept on my shoulder. The emotional responsibility is very great .” Martin Suau owns nearly 200 birds in an aviary in Son Ferriol. He has been caring for them for over 10 years, and they are an important part of his life. Last Sunday, thieves broke into his home and stole more than 80 birds, leaving him in utter despair .
The incident occurred between Sunday evening and Monday morning. As usual, the gardeners entered the premises and were surprised to find the gate open. Martin rushed to the scene, alarmed, as he remembered locking it the night before. Upon arrival, he discovered the worst possible scenario. The gate had been “broken into” and nearly 100 birds were missing.
Undoubtedly, robberies of all kinds occur every day. However, they usually involve objects, rarely living creatures. Moreover, in this case, the difficulty was greater, as it is much easier to steal a purse than nearly a hundred birds. Martin said: ‘I didn’t miss the cages; I have several mobile ones that they could have used. I think they could have gotten in with a van, and there were several of them. At night, the birds have shelters, and since they can’t see, they are much easier to catch; they can’t fly.’ One of the most common methods is to place them in dark bags to stun them and immobilise them.
Leisa Villa is Martin’s girlfriend, who shares his passion and has been helping him care for the animals for many years. She even has one of them, Muiji; he is very recognisable because he dances and sings. ‘I want to find them all, but I’m dying to find them. I live only to find them; I feel very bad,’ she told Ultima Hora. Leisa turned to social media, although she admits that she doesn’t use it often because she knows the impact it can have. If you have any information, you can contact her via her TikTok.
The motives for the theft remain unclear. Leisa and Martin have several theories. The first, and most obvious, is that the birds were stolen for profit. It is difficult to estimate the economic value, as each bird is unique, and in the event of theft, the thief would have to resort to the black market, but it could exceed €10,000. Martin explained that ‘they took the best birds’ and therefore believes that the thieves knew exactly what they were doing.