UK man reunited with stolen African grey parrot after nine years

A 56-year-old man in Britain has been reunited with his beloved African grey parrot, Barney, nearly nine years after the bird was stolen during a home burglary in Bradford, West Yorkshire.

Barney, now 19 years old, was discovered on July 30 wandering in an Ikea parking lot in Ashton-under-Lyne, Manchester. The bird was taken to a veterinarian, where a microchip revealed his identity and origin. Although the contact number registered to the chip was no longer in use because the owner, Robert Mortimer, had changed his number and moved, the identification led to the reunion.

The theft occurred in August 2017, a burglary that also resulted in the death of the family's chihuahua, Paris. At the time, the parrot was valued at approximately £1,000. Despite police investigations and local efforts to find the bird, the case remained unsolved for years until the recent discovery.