BS BULLETIN:

• Dame Judi Dench is demanding Petco stop selling birds after viewing undercover footage from a breeder tied to the retailer’s supply chain.
• PETA alleges roughly 10,000 parakeets were kept in filthy conditions and that workers killed injured birds by crushing their necks or ripping off their heads.
• Dench, who has a rescue parrot of her own, sent Petco CEO Joel Anderson a personal plea to end bird sales.

Dame Judi Dench has played queens, spies and Shakespearean royalty.

Now she’s taking on Petco.

The 91-year-old Oscar winner has sent a letter to Petco CEO Joel Anderson demanding that the retailer stop selling birds after she viewed undercover footage from an Oklahoma parakeet breeder connected to Petco’s supply chain.

And the allegations behind her letter are gruesome.

PETA says its three-month undercover investigation at Creekside Birds found approximately 10,000 parakeets packed into filthy cages, with sick and injured birds allegedly left without veterinary care.

The organization says workers were recorded killing injured birds by crushing their necks, slamming them against the ground and, in some instances, ripping off their heads. Nearly 1,400 birds were found dead over a 27-day period, according to PETA.

Federal records add another layer to the controversy.

A May 5 USDA inspection of Creekside Birds resulted in one critical and seven non-critical violations. Inspectors reported approximately 10,000 animals at a facility licensed for a maximum of 8,100 and cited problems involving veterinary care and sanitation.

For Dench, the issue is personal. She owns a rescue parrot named Sweetie and told Anderson that birds deserve the opportunity to “spread their wings” rather than enter a commercial supply chain where abuse can occur. She is urging Petco to stop selling birds altogether.

Dench is not the first celebrity to join PETA’s pressure campaign against the company.

Earlier this year, rocker Iggy Pop submitted a question for Petco’s annual shareholder meeting asking when the company would stop selling birds after viewing the same allegations.

PETA said Petco did not address the question during the meeting.

MY QUICK TAKE

You have to work pretty hard to get Dame Judi Dench mad at you.

Apparently, alleged parakeet decapitation will do it.

This one has moved well past the usual celebrity-letter-to-a-corporation story. Once federal inspectors start finding violations at the same facility showing up in the undercover footage, Petco has some questions worth answering.

DBS WIRE SOURCES

• Page Six — Judi Dench goes to war with Petco over alleged bird abuse
• PETA — Petco bird supplier exposed after parakeet deaths
• PETA — Iggy Pop challenges Petco over breeder allegations
• PETA — Petco shareholder meeting dispute over bird-supplier questions
• Creekside Birds USDA inspection history