Exclusive | Towering Topgolf nets are killing birds, animal activists allege in scathing lawsuit

Birds getting caught in Topgolf’s towering 120-foot-tall nets are, sadly, par for the course.Animal rights activists are appalled at the $1.1 billion dollar company’s alleged disregard for the creatures — claiming that over the last eight years, thousands of birds across the country have been harmed in its 12-story nets.Now, they’re taking legal action.Attorney Nora Marino, president of the nonprofit Legal Action Network for Animals, demanded in a letter sent Friday to Topgolf that it immediately acquire equipment to free the birds, “within a reasonable amount of time” using “only qualified and/or licensed wildlife rescuers and/or rehabilitators.”“It is our opinion that when any bird is trapped in your netting, and is consequently caused to suffer, be injured, and/or die .

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that is an act of animal cruelty,” and against the law in New York state, she said.Topgolf has 103 locations around the country, including one in New York and three in New Jersey.“Assuming there are 103 120-foot nets with an average catch of five birds per year over the last eight years — then 4,120 birds are affected,” Tampa Bay Raptor Rescue president Barbara Walker told The Post.“More importantly, this number can go up exponentially over future years.”Strong Island Animal Rescue League president Frank Floridia told The Post he received calls about hawks tangled in the net of the Holtsville, LI Topgolf twice last month.“I was alerted by a customer playing golf that there was a bird stuck in the net and that the people there were blowing horns and throwing balls at the bird trying to get it out, and they continued to play and keep the place open for hours while this bird was still stuck,” Floridia said.Topgolf did call the police and fire department, but the 100-foot ladders could not reach the trapped bird.“The bird ended up freeing itself,” said Floridia, although he was unsure if it survived.“And within a week, we get a call that there’s another ...