Sunday, December 30, 2007
Nonlethal means touted for nuisance bird control

Chemical Avitrol causes pigeons great suffering


By Danielle M. Williamson TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
dawilliamson@telegram.com


In her nine years helping sick and injured wildlife, Sigrid Warren had never seen anything like what she witnessed this summer and fall.

First, the Gardner woman tried to save two pigeons that violently seized and convulsed. A few weeks later, she came to the aid of a mourning dove with half of its tail ripped out, unable to walk. Meanwhile, colleagues saw pigeons, a sparrow and a blue jay drop from the sky. In October, the city’s animal control officer brought her a ruffed grouse that had flown into a store window and died.

After unsuccessful attempts to save the birds, Mrs. Warren learned that several downtown businesses had hired a pest control company to use chemical-treated corn kernels to rid their rooftops of pesky pigeons. Suddenly, the previously baffling bird injuries made sense.




“I’m not trying to advocate that we have 10,000 pigeons in town,” said Mrs. Warren, a certified wildlife rehabilitator. “But animals — not just pigeons — that get into Avitrol can die miserable deaths.”

Mrs. Warren can’t prove that the unusually high number of bird deaths, or the disappearance of the hawk that normally watches over her backyard, are directly attributable to a chemical that pest control companies use to control nuisance birds. Necropsies are costly, and she already had disposed of some of the birds before she learned that Avitrol could have been a factor. From her experience, however, she suspects that some of the birds ate the treated corn, became disoriented, and suffered fatal injuries by flying into cars and windows, or by becoming vulnerable to attack.

Waltham Services, a pest control company permitted by the state to use Avitrol, says the right mixture of the chemical with corn kernels is an effective means of keeping pigeons away from the roofs of clients, but acknowledged that its sometimes lethal effects makes it a less than an ideal solution.

Even the Environmental Protection Agency, which regulates Avitrol, notes in a September report that the chemical poses “an acute risk” to nontarget species, including hawks.

Wildlife rehabilitators and an international organization that offers pigeon control solutions tout nonlethal options to ultimately reduce the pigeon population, and question why Avitrol, which is banned throughout much of Europe and in New York City, is legal here.

Worcester, meanwhile, has naturally reduced its flock of Canada geese, which, like pigeons, are annoying mainly because of their frequent defecation on public property.

“Avitrol doesn’t reduce the pigeon population at all, and we’ve never used it to kill off a flock,” said Richard C. Berman, technical manager for Waltham Services. “Basically, we’re moving the problem from point A to point B.”

The mixture of harmless and chemically treated corn is meant to frighten away pigeons that see other members of their flock become distressed from it. Mr. Berman said that while his company offers nonlethal pigeon control solutions, including netting and bird spikes, Avitrol is the most popular because it is the least expensive.

Gardner officials estimate at least 24 pigeons died over the late summer and early fall, while Waltham Services had permits from the state Division of Fisheries & Wildlife to place Avitrol-treated corn kernels at popular pigeon roosting areas. The company is still using Avitrol in Gardner, but the city has not seen multiple deaths since the fall.

Mr. Berman said at the time it was unusual to see so many deaths, especially since his company has been working in Gardner for years. Typically, there are more deaths when a pest control company starts a program, he said.

Since there is no requirement for pest control companies, clients or the state to notify municipalities of the ongoing use of Avitrol, Gardner officials could not immediately explain the deaths.

The problem mirrored an incident in Milford in summer 2004, when, unknown to town officials, Milford Regional Medical Center hired a company to use Avitrol, and handfuls of pigeons died in the hospital parking lot.

“We must have tested seven or eight pigeons for West Nile virus,” said Milford Health Agent Paul A. Mazzuchelli. “When people found out it was Avitrol, there was a public outcry.”

Milford has since used Avipel, touted as a nonlethal repellant, to keep pigeons away from its bell tower at Town Hall.

Guy Merchant, founder of the nonprofit Pigeon Control Advisory Service, based in the United Kingdom, works with cities and towns throughout the world to naturally reduce the pigeon population, and recently started advising New York City councilors. Not only is Avitrol dangerous to the birds that feed near or prey on pigeons, but it is also an ineffective means of controlling pigeon problems in the long term, he said.

“It staggers me that Avitrol’s allowed to be used as irresponsibly as it is in America,” Mr. Merchant said. “By using lethal means, all you’re doing is increasing flock size. The only beneficiaries are the pest control companies that offer the service.”

When pigeons lose members of their flock, their instinctive response is to “breed open-endedly” to bring flock size back, Mr. Merchant said. His 35 years of experience in the pigeon control field show him that pigeons that lose part of their flock to death will overcompensate, ultimately increasing the flock by 10 percent to 20 percent.

Pigeon Control Advisory Service recommends several solutions for pigeon control: discouraging residents from feeding the birds in congested areas, setting up feeding areas away from the downtown area, and erecting artificial breeding facilities. The group offers its consulting for free.

The breeding facilities — 8-foot by 6-foot structures that resemble a garden shed — encourage pigeons to roost and feed in a controlled area. Volunteers, often wildlife rehabilitators, such as Mrs. Warren, go to the structures once a week to remove the pigeons’ eggs and replace them with dummy eggs, Mr. Merchant said.

An article published Feb. 9, 1993, in The New York Times documents the success of such facilities in Basel, Switzerland, starting in 1988. Led by a team of researchers, students and residents built nine pigeon lofts from which they removed 1,200 eggs a year. After 50 months, the pigeon population had fallen 50 percent.

Worcester officials have reduced the city’s population of Canada geese by implementing a program similar to what Pigeon Control Advisory Service recommends for pigeon control. Neighborhood volunteers monitor the birds’ nests in the spring and put vegetable oil on the eggs, ensuring they don’t hatch. James G. Gardiner, acting director of health and human services, said this practice has reduced the city’s flock by 75 geese.

“What a difference this has made with the concerts at Elm Park,” Mr. Gardiner said.

The city also has a no-feeding ordinance, which has been effective because of an extensive education program, Mr. Gardiner said, adding the pigeon population has visibly decreased since the ordinance was created in spring 2006.

Mr. Gardiner said Worcester has not used Avitrol, and believes that reducing the birds’ feeding sources is one of the best long-term solutions.

Mrs. Warren, meanwhile, is hoping for a time when the downtown Gardner area she now calls “the kill zone,” is free of Avitrol, and she doesn’t have to fear for the lives of songbirds and hawks.

Gardner Animal Control Officer Lisa A. Gaudet, who took injured pigeons and birds to wildlife rehabilitators, said she felt horrible that Mrs. Warren spent hours trying to help the animals, only to find there was no way to save them.

“I’m sure people who feel they have no choice but to use it (Avitrol) would be willing to consider other options if there was a plan in place,” Ms. Gaudet said.

The use of the killer poison Avitrol needs to stop, this poison kills and is a very horible death, you can help by voicing your words in the comments section of the article, here's the link.
Worcester Telegram & Gazette News

__________________

When all is done that is asked from me and I can fly no higher, I pray this day his hand extends to welcome home a flyer.
Author : http://www.pigeonrescue.com/
Website:http://pigeonworld.informe.com/index...e3a2a754004832
Watch: http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...29577913622678
Sign: http://www.all-creatures.org/alert/alert-20070124.html
E-Mail tallship30@yahoo.com

Now don't simply read this article and sit back and do nothing people, It shouldn't take this poison to find it way into your yard by means of a dieing Pigeon flapping around and the stray cat getting ahold of the bird and taking the very same poison home to a child.
This poison needs to be outlawed, this will not happen as long as folks keep turning there cheeks and walking away, "oh its not my problem", well it is your problem, each and everyone of us.....this is (our problem).
I have posted information concerning this poison countless times here on ParrotChatter, I have posted links to help members as they voice there opinions, this is what it will take to stop these horrors.
(PUBLIC OUTCRY).....you are the public...you are the (OUTCRY)...
Help these birds and other animals that come in contact with the poisoned bird, you maybe saving your own life...
Every time the killer poison (avitrol) is used, birds (all species) fall from the skies miles away from where the poison was placed.
Is it really going to take a child or any human to perish before this poison is outlawed????
And if so...WHY?
HEY....HEY...yea you, don't just turn and walk away.....there are Birds and other Animals that need your help.
THERE IS NO GREATER WRONG THAN THAT OF A PERSON THAT DONE NOTHING BECAUSE THEY FELT THEY COULD DO SO LITTLE.
Arty Tovar
BrokenWing Wildlife & Exotic & Pigeon Rescue & Rehab.

Sigrid Warren Wrote

Hi Arty!

I just found your website and watched the heartwrenching video on pigeons. I love it that you have Guy Merchant of PiCAS INTERNATIONAL quoting several times, since it is he who is trying to help me here in Gardner outlaw Avitrol and the senseless killing of pigeons and other innocent wildlife.

I find it amazing that someone in Minnesota came across the article: how did that happen? Our local animal control officer just forwarded me an email she received from someone in L.A. who is trying to convince her that the use of OvoControl P will solve all our problems. It does not, and I will fight anybody who wants to use yet another chemical to damage wildlife.

My goal is to implement non-lethal methods to get the pigeons off the irate property owners' rooftops and invite them to take up residence in dovecotes we will have to build. But first I have to convince our new mayor who takes office tomorrow that I am serious about this and that he cannot make this problem go away by pawing me off to other departments and stall until it's out of the public view once again.

I've had to witness two pigeons die in my rehab room, and that is something I will never forget. The first one had also suffered head trauma when it probably smashed into the pavement or was hit by a car in the parking lot where it was found, so I could not be sure what to make of the convulsions until the bird bled out right before it died. That pointed at poison, and a second bird a week later with identical symptoms that no amount of painkiller could ease confirmed my suspicion. Yet nobody in the city seemed to know what was going on since, as you have pointed out, residents are not obligated to notify anybody when they contract with a pest control company as long as there is a permit to use the nasty stuff.

I ran into nothing but denial from the culprits who continue to claim that this stuff does not kill, just deter, and while none of my dying pigeons ever uttered a single distress call (another myth used by the companies), these people claim to know all there is to know about pigeons which of course are merely the lies the pest control companies feed them to feed themselves. I've done weeks of research and learned that Avitrol is also put into French fries and bread cubes to "deter" gulls from airports and other common areas, and I can't believe that nobody worries about a poisoned French fry finding its way into a dog's or child's mouth.

The EPA just relicensed that stuff, but with stiffer regulations. Problem is, there must be a monitoring system in place to ensure that the regulations are adhered to, and that will not happen until the attitude towards wildlife changes for the better.

I will send your video link to our new mayor in hopes that he will at least take the 13 minutes it takes to view it. New York's famed underground pigeon defender group "B.O.B." (Bird.Operations.Busted) has pledged their support to me, and I did not hesitate to let him know that since they pride themselves that their "middle name means: trouble."
Sadly, I have not had anyone from Massachusetts pledge their support, but hopefully that will still happen after the holiday season is over.

I wish I had known of your and your site when I cared for a downed racing pigeon and innocently released it upon its urging to go home. Only later did I learn that such loyalty was most likely met with indifference and the pigeon's death.

My comments wrote on the site,

The killer avitrol has been used so many times here in the USA with the same results reported each and every time.
This avian repelent is anything but the deterent it is claimed to be, Avitrol is a Poison not a deterant, poisons are to kill and the poison Avitrol does just that (it kills) and a very horrible death comes to all animals that come in contact with the poison.
It is common practice from clean up personel to arrive wearing Bio Chemical Suits, why?, are they afraid to come in contact with this so called deterant chemical, simply stated 'I would be, as there have been reported cases of this poison harming humans also'.
There are other means to get along with nuisence animals other than killing them, one is to except there right to live the life given to them and all cities have maintenance workers whos job description is to clean up the city, buisnesses can help there community by creating much needed jobs and hire people to clean up the droppings left behind by wildlife.
Humans have proven over and over again that we are the most filthiest animal to roam the planet, we spread diseases and viruses and our landfills fill up at a staggering rate, we throw trash around (litter), this proof can be found where ever you will find a Human population, and we send our young into other countries when we hear of mass poisonings done unto humans, but yet we think nothing about it when it comes to mass poisoning animals here in our homeland.
Then we Americans wonder why we are hated by other countries, could it be the hypocracy that we Americans seem to thrive on?
There are many proven ways to deter unwanted animals without killing them, but mankind will always rush in to kill.
The bird of Peace 'better known as the Pigeon', has been mass slaughtered by the killer avitrol for many years, there's only one way to stop this (UNITY) here in the Devided States of America.
Arty Tovar
BrokenWing Wildlife, Exotic, Pigeon Rescue & Rehab.
-Arty Tovar

It has been proven over and over again that those humans that torture and abuse animals eventually turn there anger unto the human population.
A very sad reality of life!
Do we not see wrong and try and right it?
We are all brothers and sisters weather we wish to be or not, we all have our different opinions.
Yes, you are your brothers keeper.
We see genocide and rush in to stop it, well genocide is now happening unto the bird of peace, it has been happening and will continue to happen as long as there is division amung us.
This same form of Genocide is happening unto the Monk Parakeet as the poison Avitrol is being used to mass poison feral Monk Parakeet flocks.
Poisoning is WRONG, would you like to be poisoned?, honestly...would you?
Mankind has created antrax and many other biological weapons, to do what?
Mass kill humans, do we not do all we can to stop this?, have we not decided that this is wrong?
Terribly Wrong, Horribly Wrong, I have seen video of the humans that have been poisoned and what it does, maybe a reminder of what saddam husien done to his own people, how about hitler and his gas chambers and I left there names un-capitalized for a reason.
The killer poison named avitrol needs to be put into history as another mankind mistake, this poison needs to be outlawed, in all states...
No more hiding behind the idea "there are no other ways", There are other ways to get along with any animal, any animal without resorting to killing him/her.
Arty Tovar

I just read all this info. Arty. This really upsets me. I will go to that site and voice my opinion. The problem in todays world is people just turn their heads and look away. Most do not even care. There are more animal abusers than animal lovers. I read it everday in the paper, online or see it on the news. It is just hard to believe that these Beasts called humans that do these cruel things to Gods creatures walk this earth. It is hard to believe that that poison is legal to use and that is causes such a horrible death to the poor birds or whatever other animal comes in contact with it. But you know for it to be stopped something major will have to happen to a human life, like everything else. I will post some of your info. on my Myspace where I have an animal activist page and plenty of people will voice their opinions against that poison too! I hope everyone reads all this info. that you posted! Something must be done about this poison!

Sadly this poison has already found its way into a humans home, but this wasn't enough to wake people up.
Its all about the almighty dollar bill and lies as these pest control companies continue to mislead there clients into believing the chemical will only scare the birds away.
At a Hospital in Conneticut the poison was used and they were finding Hawks and Blue Jays dead 5 miles away.
Watch the movie in my signature, you will see first hand what this chemical does to a bird, its a very slow agonizing death that lasts for days.
A ten block section of downtown Dallas was closed, all one seen were dieing birds, people showed up wearing bio chemical suits (as always) to clean the dead bodies up, then the cover up began, with a lab reporting that it was due to a disease and the cold weather, several different species, all of a sudden they began falling from the skies, all at one time.
A nursing home in Ireland, where the residents took pride and felt a sense of worth when feeding the flock of Pigeons there at there facility stood in horror as they watched the Pigeons flop around on the ground dieing from this poison, the facility manager decided to poison the birds, now what do you think went through our seniors minds as they watched these birds die.
Another small town in Conneticut poisoned a flock of Pigeons, Pigeons were falling from the skies, folks began running in a panic thinking there town was being attacked by nerve gas, all from the birds pooping on a historic bell, and the supervisor of the bldg in charge of maintenace stood leaning against the wall looking at the bell with poop on it, well hello, aren't you the boss and don't you have employees working for you that are suppose to keep the facility clean?, how about doing your job, what you are paid to do, instead of sitting behind a desk drinking coffee.
If that bell is so precious, why has it not been moved inside where it can be protected better.
Leaning against that wall with a disgusting look on your face earning possibly 30 dollars an hour plus benefits surely does not impress me at all, do your JOB.
Its always...KILL THEM ALL...
However the city officials did respond by saying "the next time we poison the birds we will warn the public".
And ya know something, your right, getting people to help simply won't happen...they just don't care...BOTTOM LINE....

Here's a list of birds and animals that have fallen silent from this so called deterent chemical named Avitrol.
Pigeons
Doves
Blue Jays
Monk Parakeet
Hawk
Falcon
House Cat
Black Bird
Sparrows
Wrens
Sea Gulls
& humans have become ill.
These are the animals that have been found, so just think of the many that haven't been found lieing dead in the woods.
Just how long does this list have to be before people begin to help???????

In the end Arty not only do people not care they are just ignorant to what goes on. Florida is a big animal abuse state.....they still use the gas chamber here to put cats and dogs down because there are sooooooo many. Some people living in this state do not even know they use that inhmane way to euthenize the poor animals....UGH! Just horrible!

Does this make any sense? I can't believe this is a defense to using the product.