Summary

Mickaboo leadership claims to value transparency and respectful dialogue, but internal communications show a pattern of hostility toward volunteers who raise legitimate concerns. When one volunteer questioned the rationale for hatching eggs—despite the organization’s stated opposition to breeding—leadership responded with personal attacks rather than policy clarification. Evidence from Slack messages and firsthand accounts indicates that egg incubation has occurred, contradicting official denials. Instead of addressing the issue directly, leadership has dismissed inquiries and discouraged discussion, creating a culture of defensiveness and opacity. These actions raise serious ethical concerns and undermine Mickaboo’s credibility.

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Full Article

Mickaboo leadership has accused critics of spreading misinformation and using emotion-led arguments, while claiming to uphold transparency and open dialogue. Yet the organization’s own internal communications suggest a very different reality.

When a volunteer emailed Discuss asking a reasonable, policy-based question about the rationale for hatching eggs—especially in light of the organization’s stated opposition to breeding and its ongoing foster shortage—the response from leadership was dismissive, defensive and personal. Rather than engaging with the concern constructively, Sarah Lemarié responded with hostility, accusing the volunteer of fueling a “rumor mill” and suggesting malicious intent.

This pattern continued when the volunteer referenced a conversation on Slack about someone purchasing an incubator—hardly a wild accusation, but a legitimate question worth clarifying. Again, instead of offering reassurance or policy clarity, the response was accusatory, invoking past grievances and suggesting the questioner had a personal agenda.

Leadership’s refusal to directly and respectfully answer questions about whether Mickaboo personnel are hatching eggs—particularly when incubators have been discussed and acquired—is troubling. Simply stating that eggs have never been viable or that funds haven’t been used for egg incubation skirts the core question: is Mickaboo engaging in practices that contradict its own stated policies?

Further, the tone throughout this exchange reinforces a broader concern raised by many volunteers: that dissent or even simple inquiries are met with hostility and derision. This creates a chilling effect, discouraging volunteers from speaking up about legitimate concerns involving policy, resource allocation, or ethical care standards.

Mickaboo leadership continues to demand rigorous journalistic standards and respectful discourse from others while failing to model those same principles internally. If the organization wishes to be seen as transparent and ethical, it must demonstrate a willingness to answer questions—especially those asked by its own volunteers—without resorting to personal attacks or stonewalling.

The question, then, remains: is Mickaboo hatching eggs? We address this in our detailed report in the Care and Welfare Concerns section, but will elaborate on that here.

The incubating and hatching of eggs found in nests during rescues is a concerning practice that has occurred at Mickaboo, despite leadership’s strenuous denials. This contradicts Mickaboo’s ethos of discouraging breeding. We are not sure how often this happens, because as with most things in Mickaboo, the practice is opaque. In fact when a volunteer brought up the subject, Tammy responded, “who’s hatching eggs.” If someone in Mickaboo were hatching eggs, she said, she’d want to know. However, there are references to it in Slack conversations and, during a large rescue, at least one volunteer¹ reported being tasked with finding viable eggs.

In a Facebook forum post, Tammy stated that she never recommends discarding eggs that might be viable. Similarly, in a Slack message, Sarah mentioned that a nest of viable eggs from an aviary rescue had been given to the office manager at another vet clinic Mickaboo works with.

A separate Slack thread from earlier this year shows Sarah, veterinarian Renee Luehman, and several volunteers discussing the intake and attempted care of two newly hatched chicks and three unhatched eggs from a breeder surrender. The conversation also referenced another chick, Captain Jack, who was taken in after a breeder refused to intervene when the mother stopped feeding him. A concerned individual from out of state contacted Mickaboo to step in and rescue the bird.

Dr. Luehman did attempt to incubate and hatch the eggs. If she hadn’t, after three days without incubation the eggs would not be alive. Unfortunately, there was no positive outcome for the two chicks or the three eggs. Further details about this case will be explored in a forthcoming blog post.

1. Source identity available to interested parties upon request ↩︎