STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. (WXYZ) — A man in Sterling heights is facing jail time over a problem with his pet pigeons.
The birds were kept inside coops in Wally Jarbo's backyard near Schoenherr and Brougham.
Wally says he paid the required permits for the coops, but the City of Sterling Heights told him to get rid of them – citing a 2018 ordinance that bans keeping pigeons on private properties smaller than eight acres.
"They're saying 'no we can't do that anymore fellas because of the ordinance', you got to go and get it approved somewhere else," said attorney Greg Rohl.
Wally plans to appeal the charge later Tuesday morning.
"I don't think it's fair," said Jarbo. "I don't think we've treated fair and I don't think they judge it fair."
Pigeons are highly popular in the Chaldean community, especially for racing.
We reached out to the mayor for his side of the story, but he did not want to comment.
