In the News

06-03-2007, 12:34 PM

NEWS: PIGEON FANCIERS FACE PRISON FOR CRUELTY
May 26th, 2007 by PiCAS International
Eleven pigeons fanciers from the USA face prison sentences after being charged with shooting, beating and suffocating dozens of protected hawks and falcons in an effort to protect their birds during racing events. One of the accused even admitted spraying the falcons that he had caught in traps with bleach and ammonia. The combination of these chemicals causes chlorine gas to be created so the falcons would have eventually died of suffocation after having experienced extreme pain for some considerable time before death.

The charged men also admitted clubbing falcons to death in cages and shooting the birds with pellet guns. Some of the men also admitted shooting hawks and falcons with shotguns. One defendent even admitted to keeping a bucket full of talons cut from the hawks and falcons that he had trapped and slaughtered.

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Yet another instance of pigeons becoming trapped behind nylon netting installed as a bird exclusion device by pest control contractors. This time the problem arose in the town of Visalia in California, USA. Firefighters and animal control officers were called out to free trapped pigeons after a concerned member of the public called Valley Oak Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to report the incident.

Firefighters managed to free at least one trapped pigeon but it was clear that other pigeons had died having become entangled in or trapped behind the netting. The netting was installed under the eaves of the post office to prevent pigeons from nesting and roosting. It is clear that the use of netting was entirely inappropriate in this case and had the property owner been advised to install a product such as anti-roosting spikes or wire mesh, instead of the nylon netting, the issue would have been resolved at considerably less cost to the post office and no distress to the pigeons.

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regeneration group called Regenesis, based in the town of Leamington Spa, UK, opened a dovecote facility recently as part of a town-wide pigeon control system. The impressive dovecote has already been dubbed ‘contraversial’ by the local media, only a week after its launch, with one local newspaper already suggesting that pigeons are uniterested in the cote. The fact this type of control typically takes several months before it is regularly used by pigeons appears to have been ignored by the newspaper concerned.

The dovecote was recommended by PiCAS UK some years ago when Regenesis and PiCAS UK were working together to find a solution to the town’s perceived pigeon problem. Unfortunately the two organisations are no longer working in partnership. Although the PiCAS group normally recommends and supports this type of humane and effective control programme, in this case PiCAS UK has had little or nothing to do with the dovecote facility provided in the town and therefore cannot lend its name to the programme.

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An electronic bird scarer that was installed under a railway bridge in the town of Taunton, UK, by Network Rail to control pigeons is now to be re-assessed due to the fact that residents and passers by are becoming disturbed by the constant noise emitted by the device.

It appears that the device is having no effect whatsoever on the resident pigeons but is having a considerable effect on residents! According to a local newspaper, Network rail has promised to "..change the noise to stop frightening passers by."

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A riot ensued in Mumbai, India, after several boys from the local village of Belpada stoned pigeons that were being fed by residents of Vakratund Towers in Kharghar. Apparently the village boys started stoning the feeding pigeons and killed one bird. It appears that the village boys wanted to take the dead pigeon back to their village for food.

Two brothers resident in Vakratund Towers, Vilas and Praveen Sharma, tried to reason with the village boys to stop the killing but their pleas were misunderstood and the boys starting beating them up. The brothers then went to the local police to register a complaint. The brothers were taken to Belpada village by the police in order to identify the attackers. The boys that had killed the pigeon were identified but the police insisted on simply giving the boys a warning rather than arresting them.

When the police returned the brothers to Vakratund Towers angry residents argued with the police until a mob of some 350 armed villagers from Balpada village were seen approaching the building. One scared resident said: "We had just come back to the building with the police when we saw 350-odd armed men from the village approaching us. We all, including the police, ran inside the building for safety."

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Yet another story of a pigeon becoming trapped in netting on the same building in less than a week. The pigeon was seen hanging from netting installed above the HSBC bank in the UK town of Axminster. Although this is not the first time birds have become trapped in this netting, no action appears to have been taken against those responsible for installing the netting.

Horrified customers in a cafe opposite the bank watched as the pigeon writhed in distress and cafe owner Gina King said: "The poor thing was distressed and wouldn’t stop flapping." Members of the public called the RSPCA, a UK-based animal protection agency, to report the incident but incredibly the RSPCA did not send an officer out to free the bird until the following day.

Gina King said:" After quite some time he (the RSPCA officer) managed to cut the netting and push the bird free with a pole and it fell straight to the pavement below with a thud. Amazingly it was frazzled but still alive."

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German scientists believe that they have discovered how pigeons, and other migratory birds, manage to find their way back to their breeding sites. It is claimed that tiny iron particles located in the birds’ beaks allow them to navigate by using the earth’s magnetic field, in the same way as we use a compass. Through the signals picked up via the particles in their beaks the birds are able to assess where they are in relation to their breeding site and navigate the most direct route ‘home’.

There has been much debate on the subject of how pigeons find their way ‘home’, in some cases over huge distances, and this appears to be yet another theory. One recent theory suggested that pigeons follow roads in order to return ’home’ and in the film ‘Valiant’ it was suggested that pigeons navigate by using the sun and the stars.

Homing Pigeon Finds New Home in Cumberland County :: WRAL.com
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