A Saint-Eustache ostrich farmer made a grisly discovery Saturday night when he found one of his breeding ostriches murdered in its pen.
Nicolas Charbonneau found “Toron,” a 7-year-old male breeding ostrich, beheaded in his pen with his legs chopped off and missing.
“When you see these birds hatch and then grow up, you become attached to them,” Charbonneau said. His farm is called Nid’Otruche.
“I just started crying.”
Police say this is the first time anything like this has happened in the area, and are asking for the public’s help in finding the bird’s remains.
The farm is likely Quebec’s largest ostrich farm, boasting 200 birds divided into three categories: breeders, birds used for food, and pets.
Toron was a breeder with two females in the pen with him. Police met with Charbonneau Thursday to discuss the crime.