A pigeon-lover from Utah has had a giant aviary in his backyard torn down following a three-year legal battle with the city council . Boris Majnaric , 75 , of South Jordan , built the 384-sq-ft , four-room bird house in 1996 and went on to rear more than 200 birds - five times over the legal limit . Over the years neighbors filed a torrent of complaints about the pigeons , detailing excess droppings and noise and last Tuesday the structure was finally demolished . Majnaric , who was so fond of his flock he once delivered CPR to an ailing member , was not present for the demolition . Heartache : In this Tuesday , March 31 , photo workers clean out and begin to tear down a pigeon loft in 75-year-old Boris Majnaric 's backyard in South Jordan , Utah . The retired middle school French teacher told The Deseret News that his doctor advised him to stay away from his home to 'avoid stress ' as he 'd recently been hospitalized for pulmonary problems . When officials told Majnaric the birds had to go , he spent more than $ 40,000 fighting the city in court . But in late March , a district judge did not sign an order to stop the demolition . ' I will feel very incomplete because pigeons have been part of my life , ' said Majnaric , who is also facing three misdemeanor charges related to his backyard birds . 'It 's going to be an empty thing for me , ' he said . ' I do n't think it 's fair what they 've done to me . ' His conflict with the city began about four years ago , when neighbors noticed an explosion of pigeons and complained to the city about the birds 'dropping things ' on their property . Kathy Brown , who lives across the street from Majnaric , said the birds did n't bother her . 'The pigeons are his children . He 's taken good care of them , ' she said . ' I feel for him , but you have to obey the laws , too . ' On Tuesday , the flocks of pigeons were replaced with South Jordan animal control offices and public work employees who gathered to watch the loft come down . Yellow caution tape lined Majnaric 's yard and Utah Disaster Kleenup removed pigeon droppings and prepared to dismantle the structure . The city has also given Majnaric 30 days to relocate a gazebo that served as a roosting place for dozens of the birds . City officials say they decided to take down the loft after Majnaric failed to comply with multiple court orders to reduce his yard 's pigeon population . 'We really , really tried to work with him and get the population under control , ' said South Jordan spokeswoman Tina Brown . All gone : Majnaric is distraught after city officials tore down his backyard house built to house 200 pigeons _ five times as many as allowed under city rules . But she said the numbers never went down to the level they agreed upon . Majnaric agreed last summer to move the loft and gazebo himself to a house in Cottonwood Heights , said John Walsh , his attorney . But his structures did n't meet the zoning requirements there . Majnaric stopped keeping pigeons in mid-January , although some still visit his yard . He traveled to California and Oregon to find homes for some of his pigeons , spending thousands of dollars to move them . Some of his favorites are starting a new life on a farm . 'This is how much I love these birds , ' said Majnaric of the cost the lawsuits and relocation . ' I wanted to defend them . ' Majnaric said raising pigeons fulfilled a childhood dream . His parents gave him two birds in his native Croatia when he was 12 years old and he said he cried when they died .
Boris Majnaric , 75 , of South Jordan , built the 384-sq - ft , 40 - room bird house in 1996 and went on to rear more than 200 birds . Local laws mandated that residents must not keep more than 40 birds . Majnaric fought a four - year battle with the city council to keep his flock . However , he finally lost the zoo and last year the zoo was destroyed .