The Pigeons World

11-22-2007, 03:18 AM

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New York mulls $1,000 fine for feeding pigeons
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York City lawmaker wants to declare war on the city's pigeons and says he will not be dissuaded by the difficulties faced by London and Venice in ridding themselves of the ubiquitous birds.

City Councilman Simcha Felder on Monday called on the city to levy a fine of as much as $1,000 (490 pounds) on people feeding pigeons, distribute bird contraceptives, and employ hawks to scare the birds away.

He also suggested appointing a "pigeon czar" to orchestrate the fight, a plan that has ruffled the feathers of animal lovers.

"Cities are lifeless places. People don't appreciate the fact that we have some wildlife," said Al Streit, director of The Pigeon People, an organization that rescues injured birds.

Felder said he doesn't expect to rid the city of pigeons but that it was time to combat what he called a public health hazard.

Felder said pigeons and their droppings are host to several severe communicable diseases, though a report released by his office noted that cases "are rare and the threat is often exaggerated."

London has outlawed feeding pigeons in Trafalgar Square and brought in trained hawks to kill them. But pigeons still flock to the square, and Mayor Ken Livingston has come under fire for the program's high cost.

Venice is trying to stop the sale of bird seed in St. Mark's Square and prevent pigeons from chipping away at marble statues and buildings. Licensed bird feed sellers do not want to go and animal rights activists have also expressed concern.

This summer, Los Angeles said it would introduce a pigeon contraceptive called OvoControl P to reduce the population.

"The fact is that people have been disgusted and annoyed," said Felder, adding that he frequently dodges pigeon droppings at his Brooklyn subway station. "I might as well say that I'm sick and tired of it."

This isn't the first time New York City has tried to control its pigeon population. In 2003, a hawk was briefly employed to scare pigeons in a Manhattan park but the program was abandoned a few months later after the hawk attacked a Chihuahua.

Hearings on Felder's plan may be called before the end of the year.

Councilman Moves To Ban Feeding Of Pigeons

Brooklyn City Councilman Simcha Felder is pushing a bill to ban the feeding of pigeons throughout the city and add more new garbage cans to help keep food off the streets and away from the birds.

"Open garbage cans are like a restaurant for pigeons,” says Felder. “If you don't know where to go out to eat that night, I guess a couple goes out to eat at a local garbage can."

Felder says he's willing to ruffle a few feathers, appointing a "pigeon czar" to control the city's pigeon population. He is also recommending other pigeon-controlling moves like giving the birds artificial birth control and introducing pigeon-killing animals like hawks.

New Yorker Malick Saho says he like to feed pigeons.

"They come to me like this,” says Saho, demonstrating how the pigeons perch on his arm for feeding. “I love them like this. So then I give them something!”

If Felder’s bill passes, however, Saho could be slapped with a fine as high as $1,000 for feeding pigeons peanuts, bread, or anything else in his pockets or lunch bag.

"I think New Yorkers tolerate a lot to be able to live here,” says Felder. “They don't have to be stepped upon and pooped upon."

According to Felder, the average city pigeon is a prolific pooper, dumping 25 pounds of droppings a year on city sidewalks, bridges, and the unfortunate shoulder or head.

Felder says the droppings not only dirty up the streets, but pose a threat to public health.

While some New Yorkers say pigeons have taken over the city, others say the proposal is for the birds.

"I feel like they're just rodents with wings,” says one New Yorker.

"I think they're diseased, filthy and I try not to go near them,” adds another.

"They're just trying to get by just like everyone else so why can't they have a snack?" adds a third.

But it would appear the councilman has a bird of a feather in the mayor.

"While I love animals and I love birds, we do have a lot of pigeons and they do tend to foul a lot of our areas and people would be better off not feeding the pigeons,” said Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Last month, Councilman James Oddo recommended birth control to help cut down on the large number of pigeons at the Staten Island Ferry Terminal.

A video concerning this issue
War declared on New York pigeons | Video | Reuters.com

There are kind souls out there, to you I send my up most respect and admiration.
Video Fly With Me - pigeons, birds, city, atlanta, georgia - Dailymotion Share Your Videos

Dead pigeons rain on city's parade
The American city of Texarkana suffered a slight setback to its popular annual festival this weekend, when dead pigeons started plummeting from the sky.

The ex-pigeon deluge came as Texarkana, a city confusingly placed halfway across the Texas/Arkansas border, was celebrating the Quadrangle festival. Visitors couldn't help noticing that there appeared to be a large number of dead and dying pigeons on the ground, reports the Texarkana Gazette.

Then witnesses started reporting that the pigeons were dropping from the heavens.

Ice-cream stall worker Chris Flanagan was a witness to the pigeon shower: 'I saw the pigeon nose dive the concrete. It just kind of hobbled over and around and sat there and twitched.'

Another witness commented: 'They're just flying around here and falling out of the sky.'

The cause of the pigeon massacre was eventually traced back to a downtown branch of the CapitalOne Bank, which had hired a firm called Anti-Pest to remove messy pigeons from its roof.

The plan had been to lay down poisoned corn that would make some pigeons sick – but not kill them – in order to dissuade them from settling on the bank.

Jarrod Horton, the president of Anti-Pest, said that this was standard method of scaring pigeons away, but noted that 'unfortunately sometimes the side effects are the birds might have convulsions or the birds might die.'

CapitalOne – which amusingly was one of the sponsors of the pigeon-blighted festival – has apologised for raining dead pigeons upon the city. Reports suggest that the birds continued to sicken, plummet and die throughout the course of the weekend.

Robotic birds scare 'fat' pigeons

The Robops squawk and flap their wings to scare off pigeons
Pigeons are not part of Liverpool's plans for its year as European Capital of Culture in 2008.
The city council is mounting a campaign to rid the city of the birds, which it says are being fattened up by the public feeding them leftovers.

Ten robotic birds of prey are being brought into the city centre to scare off the pigeons and visitors are being warned not to give them food.

The council wants to encourage the birds into parks and open spaces.

The mechanical birds - called "Robops" - are to sit on the roofs of buildings, and can be moved around.

They look like a Peregrine Falcon, which is a natural predator of pigeons, and even squawk and flap their wings to scare off the birds.

If there's no food, there'll be no pigeons

Councillor Berni Turner
Liverpool City Council

Councillor Berni Turner, Liverpool city council's executive member for the environment, said: "Feral pigeons are a real nuisance in the city centre, they fly up at people and they leave droppings everywhere which not only makes the city look really unattractive but can make surfaces slippery and dangerous.

"We need to get the message across that anyone who feeds the birds intentionally, or occasionally with leftovers such as sausage rolls or burgers, are responsible for our streets being so crowded with these birds."

The pigeons get bigger because their natural diet is seeds and insects, rather than high-fat junk food.

Councillor Turner said it is making them "overweight and gives them a scruffy, unhealthy appearance".

She added: "We want to be able to showcase our city centre in our birthday year and of course in 2008, so it's essential we tackle this issue now and educate members of the public that if there's no food, there'll be no pigeons."

The city council uses the equivalent of 88 man hours a day cleaning droppings from streets and buildings, at a cost of £160,000 a year.

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