Runaway emu sparks five-hour bird chase with police on tail after it jumped over fence and ran a mile

Police and RSPCA staff spent five hours trying to coax an emu back home after it broke free from its home and went on the run for a mile. The actions of runaway emu Rodney also caused his owner Jon Cardy, and his wife Laura, to have to cut their first holiday in years short.

The 11-month-old bird possibly decided he wanted a holiday of his own after he jumped the fence at his home in Chedburgh, Suffolk, in the middle of the night on Thursday 13 April. Jon, aged 54, and his wife were in the middle of their first holiday since the coronavirus pandemic when they received a call from Rodney’s sitter at 6.30am to let them know he had gone missing.

Straight after the call, Jon drove back from Northamptonshire, a journey which took around an hour and a half, to look for the fugitive bird. He also had to call for the help of the RSPCA, RSPB and even the police. Then, at around 11.30am he received a message on a community WhatsApp group, asking if someone had lost their bird with a photo. He instantly recognised that bird as his pet Rodney and went to find him. Rodney had managed to make it about a mile away from home, but Jon persuaded him to the car with some tempting treats.

Jon said: “I put some of his favourite food down on the ground in front of me and he came to me without too much difficulty. He came over and he let me put my arms around his neck and cuddle him and stroke him and I managed to get him into the car to take him home.”

Jon and Laura’s house is full of other animals, including pigs, dogs, geese, a two-legged cat, a tortoise and lots of rabbits. The couple took in Rodney when he was just two-weeks-old, He grew up in their kitchen and then moved outdoors when he got older.

Jon added: “I think what happened was that there was a storm here on Wednesday night and he got spooked and must have hurdled over one of the fences. He was definitely here on Wednesday evening when our friend shut everything up and put all the animals to bed. But when she turned up early on Thursday morning he was not, so at some point in the night he went on an adventure. He has on occasion escaped before and gone on adventures but not quite that far and we’ve found him pretty quickly. This one was a bit more worrying.”

Many of Jon and Laura’s pets are used as therapy animals for people who are struggling with their mental health. Jon is a former consultant in anaesthesia and critical medicine, while Laura used to be an NHS nurse. Jon said: “My wife and I are trying to help people with broken minds. We tame as many of our animals to be pets of therapy or emotional support animals. Between us we have 39 years of experience healing broken bodies but in the past four years or so we’ve switched to healing broken minds.

“Rodney makes a great therapy animal. If you can get past being completely weirded out by a six-foot bird with a massive beak right in your face, he is very cuddly and likes strokes and is good for the soul. He hasn’t got much between his big ears but he is lovely, very inquisitive, adorable and very friendly.”

Although emus are unusual pets, Rodney is also not the only big bird in his neighbourhood. A female emu named Stacey lives nearby. Rodney is temporarily living with her while Jon fixes the fence properly so he can return home. Jon added: “Rodney is nearly a fully grown boy and they have a fully grown girl (nearby). They're both alone so we have set them up on an emu date and hope they get on well.”