When Ernie Silveri discovered thieves had poached more than 360 prized fancy pigeons and exotic birds from his Abbotsford property he nearly had a heart attack.

The president of the Abbotsford-based Vancouver Poultry and Fancy Pigeon Association was shocked to see rustlers had managed to completely empty two large lofts sometime during the night of June 28.

One of enclosures had housed his large collection of fancy cockatiels, rare sparrow-sized diamond and ring-necked doves and canaries.

The second cage had sheltered up to 200 of his show pigeons, including the fancifully named muff and West of England tumblers and his two-toned American rollers.

Silveri figures the robbers - who also made off with a cache of tools from his workshop - probably stuffed his birds in a gunnysack to transport them to their getaway car.

"They took birds that were days old. I don't think [the robbers] are going to go to the trouble of hand feeding them," he said.

"Lots probably suffocated in the sacks. It's just sad that those animals had to go through such inhumane circumstances."

Silveri found himself the latest victim in rash of livestock thefts that have plagued Abbotsford the past seven months. Since November more than 5,500 pigeons, 17 goats and hundreds of chickens have been plucked from local farms. However, after the thefts at Silveri's property, Abbotsford Police arrested one of the suspected rustlers.

William James Balice, 29, has been charged with break and entry and possession of stolen property.

Before his arrest, Balice was already scheduled in Port Coquitlam provincial court this month on charges of theft of $5,000 and under and for trespassing at night for a Maple Ridge incident on March 29.

So far, Silveri has only gotten 60 of his fancy pigeons back. The day his birds went missing a friend found an Internet ad on craigslist that showed his distinctive pigeons up for sale at $5 a pop. Silveri showed the ad to police.

He later got a call from the Langley RCMP who had come to a property in the 4100 block of 216th Street to recover what birds were on site.

It saddened Silveri to see his pigeons - which the thieves probably thought were for eating - sold so cheap.

"It made me sick. There's been years and years of selective breeding and genetics to arrive to the point where I was now," he said.

The total value of the missing pigeons, probably worth about $50 to $100 each, and equipment probably comes to around $25,000, he said.

Silveri believes his cockatiels, doves and canaries are probably already in pet shops, but he hopes to recover more of his fancy pigeons.

"They are like family," he said.

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