A sulphur-crested cockatoo called Mickey that had been “living on brioche” inside a Sydney supermarket for four weeks has been captured by wildlife services and is expected to be set free soon.
The New South Wales environment minister, Penny Sharpe, announced on Tuesday evening that the bird had “been safely captured by wildlife rescuers after spending way too long in Macarthur Square”.
“Mickey is being assessed by experts. We hope Mickey will be flying free by tomorrow,” she said before thanking “everyone who rallied to help Mickey”.
Earlier on Tuesday, Sharpe promised the bird was “not going to be shot” after false rumours of a “kill order” had spread online.
The bird had been stuck inside the Coles supermarket in Campbelltown for almost a month, according to the Sydney Metropolitan Wildlife Services.
On Tuesday morning, another cockatoo, Old Lady Doris, was taken into the supermarket by the Feathered Friends bird rescue director Ravi Wasan in the hope Mickey would be reassured by her presence.
The plan looked like it could work, with Mickey initially flying down, before being spooked and retreating out of reach.
“He’s really scared because there’s been so many attempts – people trying to catch him,” Wasan said.
“He’s so scared but the other cockatoo, obviously, is so loving that it really reassured him. We got so close … and then they opened the emergency doors and it spooked him.”
Wasan said Mickey looked “physically fine” and was not hungry because he was eating “really well” in the supermarket.
“He just needs to chill out, relax and come down without thinking that people are going to try and catch him,” he said, just hours before the bird was rescued.
“The exits where the cockatoo would go out are also the exits for patrons, so he just has to realise that the patrons … aren’t terrifying, which is obviously challenging when he sees everyone as a potential threat.”
Labor’s MP for Campbelltown, Greg Warren, said on Tuesday evening that he appreciated the “diligence” of all involved in the rescue effort.
“I am looking forward to seeing Mickey back in the wild back where he belongs.”
Members of the Sydney Metropolitan Wildlife Services on Monday night attempted to lure the bird outside – although they were unsuccessful and described it as a “nightmare”.
“The poor bird hasn’t had any dark for over four weeks and has been living on brioche and water [placed] by the night manager – who is very fond of the bird,” the rescue group stated on social media.
“Two traps left but with so much food in the store, who knows if that will work. Hopefully, we exhausted him so much he will come down to a trap for water.”
On Tuesday afternoon, the NSW premier, Chris Minns, told reporters “we don’t want to shoot wildlife” in the state and everything was being done to free the cockatoo.
“Mickey is everyone in Sydney’s spirit animal at the moment, eating free food,” Minns said.
Sharpe’s office said the rumours of a “kill order” that had circulated on social media were false. Coles was contacted for comment.
