Pigeons
© Wikimedia Commons
Pigeons are much more than dirty park pests to Maria Morales. She's cashing in on them as part of her retirement plan.

But Morales and her husband, Alberto, suffered a financial setback over the weekend when thieves stole more than 800 valuable homing pigeons from their Marion County farm, and slaughtered 100 more.

Their loss - nearly $20,000.

The Moraleses have been breeding pigeons and selling them mostly to people who use the birds in Santeria religious rituals. Given the migration of people from the Caribbean who practice Santeria, Morales said, it's not surprising that thieves would see the value in her flock.

But neither she nor deputy sheriffs can understand why they would have killed 100 of the birds.

The Moraleses realized on Tuesday evening that nearly half of their inventory of pigeons was missing from a coop behind their home.

"There is a huge demand for them," Maria Morales said. "We have live-animal auctions (in Marion County). Every time you go to an auction, if you have pigeons you know for sure you will sell them out."

While the birds are often bought by people interested in breeding or racing them, Morales said, her top customers are people who practice Santeria, which blends Catholic and Yoruba religious beliefs and is practiced in parts of Mexico, the Caribbean and South America.

"(Alberto Morales) advised the unknown person(s) who stole his pigeons would have to have known their value and where to sell them," deputies wrote in an incident report.

The birds, deputies wrote, were used in "witchcraft." But Morales says her pigeons were not. While Santeria does include animal sacrifice as part of its practices, Morales said her birds were used in religious ceremonies "to cleanse and take away bad spirits.

"They take away the negativity," she said.

They also bring her income. The farm, she said, is her "401K plan" that will hopefully fund the couple's retirement.

She and her husband first broke into the pigeon farming business in November 2012. Since then, the couple accumulated about 2,200 birds, which sell on average for $18 apiece.

While the birds alone were worth about $20,000, Maria Morales pointed out, their value was actually greater. The couple's lost profits are multiplied because the birds likely would have laid eggs three times this year, producing thousands more birds.

The farm is along Southeast 84th Terrace in Summerfield. Morales said the thieves likely drove through neighboring land to get to the pigeon coop.

According to the incident report, a partial boot print was found near the coop, but it's unclear if that will help deputies track a suspect.

Morales told investigators there was no way the pigeons could have broken free of their coop, adding that even if they somehow managed, they would still be on the property because the birds are trained to stay close to home.

Although Morales is hopeful, she said chances are slim that she will ever see her pigeons again.

"This sets us back about 14 months," she said.

The suspects responsible for stealing the birds face charges of grand theft, deputies say.

Anyone with information about is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 352-368-7867 or submit tips at ocalacrimestoppers.com.