A North Carolina couple accused of causing a vulture attack is being sued by an angry city
A North Carolina couple accused of luring flocks of vultures to their home and causing chaos in the neighborhood for years is being taken to court by city officials who are tired of trying to put an end to the nuisance.
The city of Hillsborough has hit residents Kenneth and Linda Ostrand with a civil lawsuit, seeking a court order to stop their bird-feeding practice, which is accused of drawing scores of raptors to their home and terrorizing their small town over the past two years.
“They’re freaking out to be honest,” concerned neighbor Holden Richards told WTVD.
“Everybody thinks they’re bad, but they’re not good neighbors. They have sharp claws, so they’re not good animals to have in your house. I’ve watched them pick shingles off my neighbor’s roof and I’ve found shingles off my roof in my yard, so I feel like that’s where they came from.”
The bird lovers are accused of leaving out food scraps for vultures, allegedly rolling on feathered animals near their home, leaving foul-smelling debris in neighbors’ homes and cars and causing widespread property damage that is considered a threat to public safety.
The complaint, filed in March, also claims the twisted couple named the birds of prey – and shocking pictures submitted to the court show dozens of vultures circling their Queens Street home, the outlet reported.
“I’m sure almost every neighbor of mine has called,” Richards said, pointing to a string of complaints to city officials since May 2024.
The Ostrands reportedly filed a motion to dismiss the city’s lawsuit last month, denying the charges.
Linda Ostrand, a longtime wildlife rescuer, told WTVD that she was referred by her community and said the roaming animals were already a problem before she moved to the area.
“It’s diverse, it’s funny, it is what it is,” said Linda, noting that the city changed the ordinance after the first wave of complaints to ban feeding wildlife in addition to regular feeding.
“If people didn’t have vultures here, you would hear them crying and killing each other with blood, saying that the city should not remove animals that have been hit by cars because they are the ones who do it, they are natural waste,” he continued.
“I don’t know what to do, I told the vultures that the area is not eaten, I just don’t know.
No court date has been set for the couple to fight the city.
