VISITORS to Paignton saw nature red in tooth and claw when a magnificent sparrowhawk swooped down to feast on a pigeon lunch.
The bird of prey enjoyed its kill on the pavement in full view of busy shoppers on Hyde Road.
These images of the hungry raptor were captured by David Knowles, a member of Newton Abbot Photo Club, who was visiting the town on Wednesday.
He said: “It was amazing. There were a few people looking through a window and a scattering of feathers.
“She was clearly hungry as she allowed me and a number of other members of the public to get quite close and was totally unperturbed by us.
“It is a bit bloody but this is nature in the raw. It is why animals come in all shapes and sizes and why they all have a place on the planet.”
This particular spciment is a female sparrowhawk which is up to 25 per cent larger than males. The Latin name is accipiter nisus.
PC Josh Marshall, Totnes-based wildlife crime officer, said: “Whilst it could be considered a gruesome picture this is also a fantastic spectacle of nature. Sparrowhawks when found like the one pictured can be unusually accepting of human presence for such a wary bird. This is a sight often seen by persons who feed birds in their back gardens as sparrowhawks often hunt in these areas as a number of songbirds are attracted to food sources placed out by homeowners.
SPARROWHAWK FACTS:
Diet consists of primarily of birds.
Sparrowhawks regularly hunt in back gardens where they use their fast and agile flight to ambush songbirds taking them with their feet.
Female birds can take prey items up to the size of a woodpigeon. They will pluck the prey (as in this photo) prior to eating it.
Male birds show a rufous colour to the breast and have blue/grey upperparts.
They nest in May in coniferous/deciduous plantations where they lay 4-5 eggs, incubation lasting 33 days. The young are fed on small birds brought by both male and female birds and remain in the nest for around 30 days.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
London boroughs spend the most to rid their streets of pigeons and gulls of anywhere in the country, it has been revealed.
Council spending on bird control across England has almost doubled over the last three years, new research shows.
The Borough of Southwark spent by far the most on bird control compared to other English councils, forking out £393,000 since 2013.
The next biggest spender was the Borough of Hackney which spent £162,000.
The third was the Greater London Authority which spent £137,000 on pigeon-proofing.
Analysis of data provided by the two thirds of English councils which responded to the BBC’s Freedom of Information (FOI) request, found that overall spending rose from £452,000 in 2013-14 to £830,000 in 2015-16.
Most councils said they used spikes on buildings to deter pigeons and gulls from landing, others said they used hawks or trained marksman to control bird numbers.
The British Pest Control Association told the BBC they thought the increase in spending might be due to the greater understanding of the diseases carried by the birds.
Experts warn that while pigeon-proofing may be the most humane way to control bird populations it may just move the problem elsewhere, as they simply move to an adjacent building or street.
But the Royal Society of the Protection of Birds said it “would always advocate non-lethal measures in the first instance.”
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Memes are a curious thing. They seemingly spring out of nowhere, dominant social media and often just as quickly and without warning, go away.
However, the latest meme to dominant Facebook is truly baffling. At least with past memes like Rick Roll’d, Pepe the Frog, Crying Jordan, or Super Bowl riffs, it’s pretty easy to figure out their origin stories.
So, what exactly is that head-banging bird you’ve probably been seeing all over your favorite Facebook pages?
World, meet Trash Dove.
The animated GIF was created by artist Syd Weiler and offered as a digital sticker pack. The Daily Dot reports that it really first took off as a meme in Thailand, though it’s unclear exactly why. In an interview, Weiler didn’t exactly clear things up, saying:
“Pigeons are such strange birds, they have very beautiful mottled, shimmery feathers, but they waddle around and bob their heads and beg for crumbs. They’re like beautiful doves, except they eat trash.”
Um, ok?
One Reddit user offered a theory:
“As for how it is popular, it is because some people somehow found the sticker (this one in particular) very annoying (well including me). Many other people think the sticker is cool and/or it’s funny how someone got annoyed over this and began spamming with it in comments section. This went viral when popular Facebook pages joined the spamming festival and soon enough it’s all over Facebook.”
And there’s no denying the Trash Dove has become near omnipresent and therefore quite annoying to lots and lots of people. So annoying that someone named Adam Lockwood started a Change.org petition to have it banned from Facebook – one that already has more than 10,000 digital signatures. As the petition language explains:
Remove the purple bird from Facebook, it’s constantly spammed in the comments and must be stopped, if you only sign one petition today, make it this one! #MakeFacebookGreatAgain !
Until then, you might have to start getting used to the annoying little purple bird head banging through the comments section of all your favorite sites and message boards.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
The amount spent on ridding streets of pigeons and gulls has almost doubled in the past three years, it has emerged.
About two-thirds of England’s councils responded to a BBC information request on bird control.
Their responses reveal the amount spent rose from £452,000 in 2013-2014 to £830,000 in 2015-2016.
The British Pest Control Association said the increase in spending might reflect a growing awareness of public health risks posed by some birds.
The figures come about two years after then Prime Minister David Cameron called for a “big conversation” about gulls in the wake of attacks on a dog and a tortoise in Cornwall.
Of the 103 authorities that specified the types of control methods used, 12 said they employed marksmen to shoot pigeons, 12 used hawks and 46 used spikes to discourage pigeons landing.
Scottish councils spent £950,000 over the past three years compared with £43,000 in Wales and £9,519 in Northern Ireland.
The biggest spender on bird control is the London Borough of Southwark, which has shelled out £393,000 since 2013.
Stoke-on-Trent City Council had the biggest spend outside of London, with £75,000 since 2013, followed by West Sussex County Council which spent £65,000 and Portsmouth, which spent £63,000.
Money spent by councils on bird control ranges from approaches such as pigeon-proofing buildings to clearing up pigeon guano and removing dead pigeons.
But some types of bird control – such as pigeon-proofing – simply move “problems on” to another building or area, said Dee Ward-Thompson, technical manager at the British Pest Control Association.
“If you totally exclude them rather than control the population, they sometimes just move to an adjacent building.
“What we are seeing more often now is landowners coming together to deal with issues collectively.
“In London, they are trying to exclude gulls from all of the buildings because otherwise they will just be moving the issue on.”
Common control methods used in England
Netting, which prevents birds getting on to buildings
Spikes to deter birds
Bird wire
Hawking
Decoy birds of prey
Electric shock systems
Shooting
Trapping
Egg removal and egg pricking or egg oiling (to prevent hatching)
Pigeon control was usually carried out on public health grounds, she said, while gulls were targeted by some authorities because they can be aggressive.
Ms Ward-Thompson, who said bird control activities must be carried out by professionals because of the various laws involved in protecting animals, said she was unaware of a growing issue with birds that could explain the doubling in spending over three years.
Falconer Mark White, of East Anglia-based Step Pest Control, said councils were increasingly using non-lethal methods of bird control.
He uses a combination of methods ranging from netting and spikes to special gels which look like fire, hawks and even a high-powered laser beam.
“A lot of people think we in pest control use hawks for killing. It is in fact the complete opposite – we use the birds for disruption and discourage killing as much as possible.”
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds said it “would always advocate non-lethal measures in the first instance”.
The RSPCA said: “The most humane way of deterring birds is to remove what attracts them to urban areas – mainly food or shelter.
“Means of doing this can include reducing food availability, or preventing them from accessing roofs or other areas where they could cause disturbance.
“If deterrence methods and all alternatives fail, and there is a proven case for control methods, we urge people to use only humane methods and trained, experienced professionals.”
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
London boroughs spend the most to rid their streets of pigeons and gulls of anywhere in the country, it has been revealed.
Council spending on bird control across England has almost doubled over the last three years, new research shows.
The Borough of Southwark spent by far the most on bird control compared to other English councils, forking out £393,000 since 2013.
The next biggest spender was the Borough of Hackney which spent £162,000.
The third was the Greater London Authority which spent £137,000 on pigeon-proofing.
Analysis of data provided by the two thirds of English councils which responded to the BBC’s Freedom of Information (FOI) request, found that overall spending rose from £452,000 in 2013-14 to £830,000 in 2015-16.
Most councils said they used spikes on buildings to deter pigeons and gulls from landing, others said they used hawks or trained marksman to control bird numbers.
The British Pest Control Association told the BBC they thought the increase in spending might be due to the greater understanding of the diseases carried by the birds.
Experts warn that while pigeon-proofing may be the most humane way to control bird populations it may just move the problem elsewhere, as they simply move to an adjacent building or street.
But the Royal Society of the Protection of Birds said it “would always advocate non-lethal measures in the first instance.”
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
IF YOU are one who enjoys reading the comments on Facebook posts, chances are you have come across a headbanging purple bird.
The meaning of the purple bird is very confusing with the meme going from innocent sticker to a right-wing symbol used by fascists and Neo-Nazis.
Originating from Florida artist and Adobe creative resident Syd Weller, the “Trash Dove” is part of a sticker set featuring a large-eyed purple pigeon in various situations — most notably the bird vigorously thrashing its head up and down.
The sticker suddenly went viral after being featured alongside a dancing cat on a Facebook page with millions of followers.
After going viral, Trash Dove became the focus of dozens of memes and fan art, which includes porn based on the purple pigeon.
But now the symbol has moved past light trolling and is considered to be an alt-right meme used to spread neo-Nazi propaganda.
A campaign dubbed “Operation Nazi Bird” from 4chan’s /pol/ message board — the epicentre of far-right extremist activity — was responsible for the shift.
The campaign called for the alt-right to use the bird to clog up the comment section of prominent leftist Facebook pages.
Users are also being encouraged to start photoshopping Trash Dove into images of Nazi propaganda, with users quick to comply.
Is the Trash Dove meme a symbol for Neo-Nazis?Source:Supplied
While not everyone associates the meme with Nazi propaganda, it’s apparent some people have been taking the bait.
People are starting to get upset over this meme.Source:Supplied
So in closing, Trash Dove started as a simple Facebook sticker, before far-right trolls on 4chan attempted to make it a neo-Nazi symbol. Where it will go to now is anyone’s guess.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
This week’s bird mystery is the opposite of the one presented here last week. Last week, we had a bird that was seen and not heard; this week, we have a bird that was heard but not seen.
The sound was a kind of cooing, or perhaps hooting, that I heard while I was sitting at my desk last month. At first, I thought it was the mourning dove on the battery-driven bird clock that my Secret Santa gave me at a Herald holiday party a decade ago.
Yes, the clock is still working.
I even went downstairs to check if the hour was right.
But then I heard the cooing sound again, not on the hour and not at nearly the same time as I had heard it the first time.
The mystery deepened.
I considered the possibility that the sound could be coming from a mourning dove. Mourning doves have been known to winter here, but they are not hardy birds, mostly because their feet freeze. This leaves them unable to forage, and they starve to death.
This has been a tough winter.
So probably not a mourning dove.
Besides, the sound wasn’t quite right. The cadence was different. It had a slightly hollow sound, unlike the rich, full cooing notes of the mourning dove.
Other possibilities
So, then I wondered if it could be an owl. This is the season for owls. They’re establishing territories and establishing themselves ahead of the breeding and nesting season. There’s been a great-horned owl hanging around my place. Great-horned owls are mostly nocturnal, but it wouldn’t be impossible for an owl to be calling, especially on an overcast, gray February day.
An owl then.
Another possibility I considered was the rock dove or common pigeon. I rejected that out of hand, again because the sound was wrong and because pigeons are show-offs, seldom bothering to hide themselves. Plus, they usually occur in crowds.
So what’s left?
There’s one other possibility, and that must have occurred to some of you.
But I rejected the Eurasian collared dove because I hadn’t seen the bird, and if a collared dove were around, I would expect it to be feasting at my feeders, but I never caught it there.
Collared doves were a possibility, I knew. They’ve colonized many of the small towns in northeastern North Dakota, where they often scavenge spilled grain near elevators. I’ve had many reports from people entertaining collared doves at feeders in small towns, and some from larger communities such as Devils Lake and Grand Forks.
But I’d never heard any from the countryside.
So I was predisposed to doubt the bird could be a collared dove.
But that is what it turned out to be. I know this because I encountered two of the birds when I walked up to the mailbox late one morning. Actually, it wasn’t so much of an encounter as it was a “fly by.” The birds were heading west at velocity, moving from one sheltering evergreen to another on the other side of the yard.
There was no doubt they were collared doves. They were doves, clearly, by the elongated shape of the body and the pointed wings. They were not mourning doves because they were too large. Plus, they showed off the telltale sign of collared doves, the collar itself. This is a narrow black band at the back of the neck that is usually pretty easily seen.
The collar separates the collared dove instantly from the other doves that occur here. The rock dove is a plumper bird with shorter wings. It occurs in a broad color range. The mourning dove is similar to the collared dove in shape and general habits, but it is a more richly colored bird, brown overall but with subtle shades of tawny and rust. Plus, it has a decidedly pointed tail, giving it a kind of arrow-shape pattern in flight.
The Eurasian collared dove is a plainer bird overall, usually appearing dull gray or off white, but sometimes showing some shades of brown or even pink. It has a square tail. Importantly, too, it has outsized bright legs and feet, bright red in color—tough looking feet. These may be the assets that allow collared doves to survive winters in the Red River Valley.
The collared dove is a relatively recent immigrant, arriving in the United States about 1975 and in North Dakota in 1999. It’s become pretty well established—and for me from now on an expected, not a surprising, species.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Fifteen pigeons were released around 7.30 am at the Kilinochchi railway station in celebration of the 69th Independence Day on February 4 and the birds returned to their home in Wattala with messages of peace and unity and of course phone numbers so Loni de Lanerolle could call the dignitaries still somewhere in the North to say their messages were received.
The whole trip took the pigeons less than four hours. Attended by religious heads, the Government Agent S. Arumainayagam and senior police officers, the event was organized by Loni de Lanerolle, a pegion fancier, who is an animal enthusiast and trainer of racing pigeons since childhood.
He hopes to revive the spectacle of messenger pigeons by carrying out a series of such events across the country. We were greeted by Papaya the macaw. The blue-yellow-green beauty had a lousy loud call that totally contradicted its good looks. But it was quite harmless despite its inquisitive bahaviour. Two beagles (dogs) were dozing off in a coop and it was the two Chihuahuas (breed of dog) who announced our arrival with barking and tail wagging at the same time. A few tortoises were doing their lawn rounds and the place was a mini zoo. Apparently pigeons were not Pigeon-man Loni’s only interest. He is an all-round animal enthusiast.
The pigeons were in coops while some were perched on a wooden bird perch. They were robust and the plumage around their necks glittered in sea green, pink and brown the likes of which can only exist in nature.
Their living room had the ambiance of an upcountry cottage, or one of those quaint old houses you find only in old English novels. The living room had wooden carpetted floors and one wall consisted of photographs that spanned six De Lanerolle generations. The only thing that was missing was a fireplace. Loni and his wife Monika designed their house in Wattala together. A photograph of two riders on a beach adorned another wall and with muscles gleaming and horses’ hooves splashing on the water, the photograph taken with an Instamatic camera was very lively. Loni once owned a stable with 16 horses and had previously won the Governer’s Cup. Now the stables have been replaced by a tea factory, owned and run by the Lanerolles. Loni’s olfactory senses have gone for a six because of the tea. “I was the first one to flavour tea in Sri Lanka,” informs Loni. Back in 1981 he worked with tea for many hours in his room, due to which he effectively loss his sense of smell.
He was the first to import a thoroughbred in 1996. One of Loni’s sons took to horses and is the only British qualified horse trainer in the country also known as BHSI or British Horse Society Instructor who trains members of the island’s Mounted police. “When the other kids were getting ready to go to school, my kids were out riding on the beach or learning how to bait a hook at 3am in the morning,” said Monika. That’s all their parents were interested in, the great outdoors.
“My boys can shoot,” said Loni who recalled that one of them won the Junior Nationals.
“Whatever the father did the boys also followed suit,” chipped in Monika.
When asked how she put up with a house full of people who loved the great outdoors, Monika said, “I was the only child in my family and when I married Loni it was like taking over a farm. His parents were only too glad to get rid of his pigeons and ponies,” recalled Monika laughing.
In fact, Loni bought a pair of eagles with his first salary. He bought a pony next. At one time he had owned 21 Persian cats. Ever heard of geese guarding houses? Loni’s geese do. They previously owned a watch dog in the form of a blue coot as well. “Whenever someone came to our house the blue coot would fly from its watch post and peck the visitor’s toes,” said Loni. He revealed that geese are equally territorial, guarding their home against any intruder. He owned a pair of carrier pigeons when he was very young and recalled famous stories of pigeons been used to send messages from the frontline to the main camp during wars.
Loni’s 30-strong flock consists of birds of documented champion bloodlines from Germany and Switzerland and claims that they have never fallen ill. His flock is given special vitamins imported from Australia and a special concoction of bird feed made from various grains, such as Kollu and corn according to his own ratios. “It’s an instinct,” says Monika. “He just knows what to give the birds.”
Loni can identify each bird just by looking at it. And he knows what to give them. If they look a little tired or dozing off, he gives them more Kollu as it gives them more energy.
Loni had his first pigeon trial in Puttalam against his father’s warning that he’d lose the birds. But Loni trusted his featured companions more than anyone else. It was a rainy day and the pigeon returned the following day. But he also lost a few. Once Loni released some of his pigeons at Elephant Pass and his gardener filmed the whole episode. Loni did not realize that a falcon swooped down on one of the birds which he knew only after viewing the video footage.
Ten years ago one of Loni’s friends in Germany sent him eight pigeons. They were able to get them cleared from Sri Lanka Customs, but two escaped while in quarantine. A month later his friend from Germany called to ask him whether he let two birds out in Frankfurt. Apparently they escaped from Colombo and flew 10,000 miles back to Frankfurt.
Being a hunting man Loni bagged many migratory ducks in Puttalam. “These ducks are ringed with markers and they come from Siberia which is much further than Germany. But racing homers (pigeons) are much faster than ducks”, said Loni. Loni uses his pigeons to deliver messages only when the occasion calls for it especially when there are dignitaries and the release of pigeons is deemed necessary as a symbol of peace and unity.
“Most of them (dignitaries) don’t believe that pigeons can actually carry messages. So when the birds fly back with the phone numbers and we call them, they are quite shocked,” said Loni. “Sometimes the pigeons have beaten the dignitaries to Colombo.” The trick of the trade is to keep the ladies at home, something that most pigeon breeders know. But Loni has gone a step further and usually keeps the males and females in separate cages. The night before they are to be let out he allows the lads to meet their ladies. Once they are released, whether it’s Colombo or Kilinochchi or Point Pedro, they find their way to their partners.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Pigeons are disappearing from New York City streets, but not for natural reasons.
As CBS2’s Valerie Castro reported, some say the birds meet a violent death across state lines after being illegally snatched up in broad daylight.
Pigeons are affectionately – or perhaps derisively – called flying rats. Indeed, they may not be the most beloved New York City wildlife.
But the NYPD said removing them from city streets is illegal.
That has not seemed to stop one man, who was seen trapping at least a dozen unsuspecting birds in Greenpoint, Brooklyn earlier this week.
“It’s really bizarre,” said one woman who witnessed the trapping.
The woman, who does not want to be identified, said birdseed was used as a lure
“With a massive net — looked like a big butterfly net — he captured a bunch of pigeons and threw them in to a van, and then drove off,” she said.
Someone who appeared to be the same man was captured on cellphone video in the East Village last year, walking away with a net full of birds.
In the most recent incident, he was seen on surveillance video walking down the sidewalk with the large net and he appeared to pounce on the unsuspecting birds just around the corner. Another angle showed some pigeons fluttering away after the net was thrown.
The man hurries across the street with his catch to the waiting van.
“It’s obvious that he knew what he was doing was wrong, and he was probably doing something kind of nefarious with the pigeons and that’s why he didn’t want to be caught,” the woman said.
The Humane Society of the United States said the practice is an ongoing problem.
“Pigeon netting has been going on for some time,” said Brian Shapiro of the Humane Society.
The Humane Society claimed the pigeons caught in New York are sold across state lines to Pennsylvania, one of the few states that allows live pigeon shoots.
The practice is controversial, but legislative bills to end it in that state have never passed.
“I think it’s more than coincidence that whenever we see events happening in Pennsylvania, that we hear of pigeon nettings happening here in New York City,” Shapiro said.
The Humane Society of the United States said there is a bird shooting event in Pennsylvania this weekend. But where the birds are coming from is unclear.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
A couple of weeks ago, a feral pigeon arrived on my doorstep, and forced me to reconsider some cherished preconceptions.
It had been attacked, by a cat, perhaps by a gull. All its tail feathers were missing, raw flesh was exposed on its rump. When I tried to shoo it away, it couldn’t, or wouldn’t, budge.
Why was I shooing it away? Well, I like to think I take a tough-minded attitude to these things. Wild animals kill and eat each other all the time. An injured pigeon is a meal for some other hungry creature. Part of me thinks we should never interfere in these interactions.
Victims of predators are generally weak or sick. Predation not only feeds the attacker, but benefits the health and ultimately the evolution of the prey species.
However, that rational but rather cold Darwinian argument seemed less and less compelling, every time I stepped over the unfortunate bird. It had an uncanny way of catching my eye with its own tiny green one. I don’t delude myself that it was asking for my help, but it was certainly suffering.
And there just didn’t seem to be any good excuse for not helping a suffering being.
Unlikely to survive
But I had a tough-minded way to deal with that notion too, though it didn’t last more than a few minutes. I assumed, for no very clear reasion, that the pigeon was most unlikely to survive. Therefore I should just put it out of its misery.
But how? I’ve wrung a blackbird’s neck after hitting it with my car, many years ago, but a subsequent effort to kill a pigeon in similar circumstances turned out disastrously. No point in making this one’s suffering any worse…and upsetting myself more, if I’m honest.
So, hours later than I should have, I began googling emergency vet numbers. One referred me to Kildare Animal Rescue. That seemed like too long a shot for a Stoneybatter resident, but within 20 minutes a trained volunteer arrived from nearby Cabra to take the pigeon away. To my surprise, it has not been euthanised, but is apparently making a full recovery. It may soon be returned to its natural urban habitat.
Curious to find out more, I went to see the Kildare foundation for myself. It was founded in 1994 by Geraldine O’Hanlon, who still runs it. My guide was Dan Donoher, who has worked at the wildlife unit full time for 15 years, after volunteering aged 17. His commitment and practical, professional approach were evident.
The foundation is near Kildare town, in a farmhouse surrounded by outbuildings, many of which are occupied by dozens of abandoned pets. These are rehabilitated and, where possible, offered to new homes.
But the wildlife unit is different, orientated towards eventual release. It had 43 inmates when I visited. We started in the hospital section, where injured animals are confined in small cages for recuperation, often after surgery by specialist vets.
Two buzzards, each with a wing in an incongruously coloured vetwrap sling, glared at us when Donoher pulled back the curtain on their cages. The centre has nursed a dozen of these large birds of prey back to health recently, largely due to a spate of shooting incidents. This seems to have been sparked by sensational media reports claiming falsely that they kill pets and livestock.
Poisoned prey is a problem too, and children at Scoil Bhríde in Kilcullen were amazed to find a very sick buzzard staggering around their school yard one morning last year. They contacted the centre, and the bird recovered in its care.
The children were then able to witness the stirring spectacle of the bird their school had saved taking to the air again.
The hospital section also contained a rook, a rabbit, feral and wood pigeons and a collared dove, a mallard, a black-headed gull and a blackbird. All had been found injured by members of the public, sometimes passed on by the National Parks and Wildlife Service. This agency has statutory responsibility for injured wildlife, and licences every individual cared for by the centre.
Climate
There was a severely underweight hedgehog, apparently tricked by this very mild winter to emerge too early from hibernation. It had found few worms, snails and insects to build up its strength again. Its plight is probably another indication of the myriad impacts of our changing climate.
Out in a larger recuperation unit, the animals have much more space to exercise, before moving to an outdoor area that is the last stage before release. However, in some instances, such as foxes found as cubs, an inmate is assisted through a further stage with a mobile post-release shelter. This is placed out in the wild, and they can come and go to be fed until they learn to hunt for themselves.
Donoher says the centre has monitored several of its releases, including badgers and pine martens, through radio-tagging, and they generally appear to survive and thrive. See badgerdiary.net/the-beginning/
The only other full-time worker at the centre is Michael O’Toole. Like Donoher, he describes the work as very rewarding, though not, he concedes, in financial terms. “There are other riches in life,” he says.
There were three volunteers working there the day I visited. Martina Broughall is a nurse, and gives up her free Saturdays plus a morning a week to work there. There were also two transition year students, Lauren Reynolds from St Conleth’s Community College in Newbridge, and Lisa Lyons from Scoil Mhuire in Clane.
They spoke with infectious enthusiasm about their work. “It’s much more interesting than working in retail or something like that,” said Lauren. “We got to hold a ferret, see foxes up close.”
“I was surprised by the buzzard,” says Lisa. “I never knew we had such big birds of prey.”
They say the experience is leading them to consider careers involving “something in the line of animals.”
I left feeling more than a little humbled. There are more paths into engagement with nature than birding, botany, ecology and conservation activism. And Darwinism doesn’t offer helpful answers to every encounter with a wild animal.
Finding help for injured animals
“We can’t keep up with the demand,” says Emma Higgs, director of Wildlife Rehabilitation Ireland. She now logs up to 4,000 wild animal casualties a year, far more than the National Parks and Wildlife Service, overstretched as ever, had been aware of.
Higgs is a veterinary nurse who set up this group to co-ordinate the activities of people who want to help injured wild animals recover, from individuals to institutions such as the Kildare foundation.
WRI has organised 17 training courses for 20 people each over the last five years. Higgs is working full time pro bono, but aims to set up a wildlife rehabilitation and teaching hospital eventually.
If you find an injured animal, before taking any action you should contact one of the WRI contacts list
And, as spring comes on, do remember that fledgling birds and young animals that may appear abandoned are actually in the care of a nearby parent, and are best left well alone.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Pigeons are a facet of New York City life that are so ubiquitous that you probably wouldn’t even notice if one or two or a dozen of your neighborhood flying rats went missing. Which seems to be the theory a man wandering around Greenpoint is counting on, considering that earlier this week he was seen snatching up pigeons in a huge net. And sadly, it’s probably not because he’s just a very eager pigeon trainer.
According to CBS2, at least one witness saw a man place down birdseed as a lure on a Greenpoint street, lunge at the pigeons who came to eat it with a big butterfly net and then quickly take his net full of pigeons into a van. The anonymous witness’ account is corroborated by surveillance footage from the area, which shows the net-wielding man leap off the screen and re-appear with a net full of squirming birds. Other footage from the same block, taken at the same time, shows startled birds flying away from something, but the actual trapping of the birds wasn’t caught on camera.
“It’s obvious that he knew what he was doing was wrong, and he was probably doing something kind of nefarious with the pigeons and that’s why he didn’t want to be caught,” the witness told CBS.
She was right to assume the man was up to no good, since as we went over that time someone was suspected of stealing all the pigeons from Washington Square Park, the birds are most likely brought across state lines to Pennsylvania, where they’re used as live target practice. Pennsylvania is one of the few states that still allows the birds to be used as live target practice according to CBS. Even if the man didn’t have a nefarious end for the pigeons, it’s still illegal to trap the birds in New York City without a permit.
Last year, a similar-looking man from the CBS story was seen stealing pigeons off the street in the East Village, before throwing the squirming bag of birds into a van:
The practice of illegally trapping pigeons became enough of an issue that people put up flyers decrying the practice, one of which a tipster sent Gothamist in 2015:
One thing I know for sure: This dude better pray that Mike Tyson doesn’t catch him stealing pigeons.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
POOLE is one of the biggest spenders on bird control in England, according to new figures.
According to data from a Freedom of Information request by the BBC, the authority has spent £45,060 over the past three years on measures to control pigeons and gulls.
This places it 14th on a table of the biggest spenders, although some way behind leader the London Borough of Southwark which has spent more than £390,000 since 2013.
Speaking to the Daily Echo, a spokesman for the authority said it spends £24,000 per year on bird control at its waste transfer station.
Councillor John Rampton, cabinet member for environment, said: “It is a requirement of the operating licence of the Waste Transfer Station to control the bird presence on site.
“Without controls in place we would be in breach of the site licence and at risk of prosecution.
“The use of a licensed bird of prey is an industry standard way of managing birds and is the most humane way of controlling their numbers at the site. Other deterrents are unable to be used in this case due to the proximity to protected land and wildlife.”
The bird of prey is not released and is simply used as a deterrent.
It is not clear whether or not Bournemouth council has responded to the FOI request, but the authority was unable to provide figures to the Daily Echo on Friday.
A spokesman said: “Our pest control team now only has one person – this means that a lot of the work to control birds in the town centre is subcontracted out to the private sector.
“We cannot touch gulls anyway as they are a protected species.”
The BBC report found the amount of money spent nationally among two-thirds of England’s councils had doubled from £452,000 in 2013-2014 to £830,000 in 2015-2016.
Of 103 authorities that explained what methods of control they used, 12 said they employed marksmen to shoot pigeons, 12 used hawks and 46 used spikes to discourage pigeons landing.
Gulls, in particular, have been the subject of much discussion in recent years due to rising reports of them attacking people and pets. Herring gulls are listed as a vulnerable species and protected.
In August last year Bournemouth councillor Michael Filer said the authority had few powers to interfere with the birds, limited to using netting and wires in highly populated areas and potentially removing eggs from nests – a process described as expensive.
Natural England published advice on gull control in 2015, saying local authorities should use netting to discourage birds from nesting in specific areas, keep food waste facilities secure and discourage the feeding of birds by members of the public.
A general licence is in place allowing councils to remove the nests and eggs of gulls where they pose a risk to “public health and safety”, and it also allows for the “lethal control” of black-backed gulls.
Last week it was reported that “vigilantes” in Berwick-upon-Tweed have been arming themselves with guns and carrying out their own gull cull.
Conservative MP Anne-Marie Trevelyan said the impromptu pest control was “appreciated in some quarters” but “brought the risk that people are having to take the law into their own hands to deal with these really difficult and aggressive birds”.
Like all wild birds, gulls and their eggs and nests are protected from the public under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
According to environment minister Therese Coffey the government has commissioned research to look into contraceptives for gulls, but there are no plans to change their legal protection.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
The fate of Abbotsford’s urban pigeon prohibition is still unclear after council received a report last week that noted the bird ban aligns with the city’s current zoning bylaw, but that those regulations are currently under review.
The issue was raised last fall by Gurbir Brar, who raises pigeons and says the bylaw banning them is irrational and unnecessary.
Brar told council in October that other jurisdictions, including Calgary and Surrey, allow the keeping of hobby pigeons in residential areas, without a problem. He compared pigeons to cats, and said the birds – when properly trained – are much less disruptive than felines to the surrounding community. He was accompanied by more than a dozen fellow pigeon fanciers.
Staff were directed to prepare a report, which was presented to council last week.
In it, assistant planner Nick Crosman notes that pigeons are currently defined as poultry, rather than pets, and thereby are an agriculture use. Currently, residential zones don’t permit such uses.
But the city’s zoning bylaw is currently undergoing a revision to align it with the 2016 Official Community Plan. That document would seem to be more friendlier to pigeon-rearing, and includes a statement that suggests council consider allowing “urban agriculture activities that encourage self-sufficiency.” Pigeons and backyard fowl aren’t mentioned in the OCP.
The updated zoning bylaw will come to council for approval or revision. Any changes would require a public hearing.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Sunday was not just the polling day for Old City. It was also a day for setting up the traditional weekly ‘kabootar mandi’ (pigeon market) on the lane that runs adjacent to Company Bagh. Despite the poll fever, which had the entire city in its grips, the spirit of the pigeon handlers remained high and they turned up in good numbers to purchase the birds of their choice.
It is believed that the ‘kabootar mandi’ is the preferred destination of pigeon handlers from all parts of the country. “‘Shauk badi cheez hai’ (hobby / interest means a lot). That’s why we are here all the way from Varanasi to buy pigeons of a specific breed,” said Mohammed Salman, a pigeon handler fond of ‘Kabootar-baazi’ (pigeon racing).
The sport, said Salman , is an age-old tradition from the time of the Nawabs and the Mughals, who started and promoted the practice. “It is as common as reading, listening to music, swimming or any other hobby,” Salman told HT.
This pigeon market too is an old one, going back to the times of the Nawabs. It includes some 100-odd makeshift shops, neatly arranged alongside the road. They sell a variety of pigeons, including some much sought-after species. “We deal in all varieties, including Bedag, Ambarsaria, Saldaar, China, Shajahanpuri, Hara Shajahanpuri, Girabaaz and many others,” said Shahbaaz Khan, a shop owner.
Each variety has its own speciality, he added. “The key factor that guides a handler’s preferences is the pigeon’s ability to fly for a long time. Girabaaz can fly non-stop for 12 hours. It’s the most preferred species and costs around Rs 1,200-10,000,” said Khan.
Javed Khan, a pigeon handler who bought birds worth Rs 23,000 on the day, said, “Generally, there are two sports that are common among pigeon handlers. In one, the competing handlers will set of their group of pigeons (both groups having equal number of birds). While coming back, whichever group has more pigeons in it, that handler wins the contest. The second type involves solo flight – where only one pigeon per handler is set off. In this, the ability of the pigeon to fly for a long time will ultimately decide who gets to be the winner,” he explained.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
SINGAPORE — When it comes to managing Singapore’s animal population, culling will be done only as “a last resort”, said Minister of State for National Development Koh Poh Koon in Parliament on Monday (Feb 20).
He was responding to questions by Member of Parliament (MP) Louis Ng (Nee Soon GRC) and Non-Constituency MP Daniel Goh in relation to the culling of 24 free-roaming chickens in the Sin Ming area, which had sparked a public outcry recently.
Dr Koh pointed out that the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) had found that the free-roaming chicken population in the Sin Ming area had “more than doubled” in the past two years, from about 20 in 2014 to 50 last year.
Given that chickens are more susceptible to bird flu, compared to other birds such as pigeons, and can transmit the virus to humans, Dr Koh said the AVA decided to remove some of the chickens, and to keep their population close to the “baseline level”.
When asked by Mr Ng for the number of people who complained, rather than the number of complaints relating to the chickens in Sin Ming, Dr Koh disclosed there were three people who complained in 2014, five in 2015 and 13 people last year.
Countering suggestions that the chickens could have been easily relocated to the wild, such as in Pulau Ubin or other forested areas, Dr Koh said this could create a situation of inter-breeding, thus adversely affecting the genetic stock of the endangered species of red junglefowl, which are found in Ubin and the Western Catchment area.
And while rehoming of chickens is a possible solution, it cannot be done in the same way it is done for cats and dogs, since the fowl cannot be housed in Housing and Development Board flats and they also carry the risk of transmitting avian influenza.
However, Dr Koh said that the AVA acknowledged that engagement and communications with residents and other stakeholders on the Sin Ming chickens issue “ought to have been better managed”.
Adding that there is no “magic number” on what the threshold figure should be before the authorities decide to cull, and citing a lack of specific recommendations on when to cull free-roaming chickens when there is no bird flu infection, Dr Koh reiterated that the AVA takes a “calibrated and measured approach” to reduce the risks posed to public health.
To find the best way to manage the population of free-ranging chickens and other birds, the AVA is currently undertaking research with academics, wildlife experts and other public agencies, he added.
For instance, in January last year, the authority initiated a study with the National University of Singapore to better understand the ecology and population of selected bird species, such as free-range chickens, in Singapore.
Separately, in response to another parliamentary question filed by Dr Lee Bee Wah (Nee Soon GRC), Dr Koh said the AVA received about 21,000 cases of bird-related complaints in the last three years, mostly related to the feeding of pigeons by the public, and pigeon nuisance.
Beyond reducing cases of birds feeding on leftover food in hawker centres, Dr Koh cited other solutions to the problem, such as bird deterrent gels, oral contraceptives for pigeons, and fogging trees to deter mynahs.
However, in situations where the authorities perceive the risk is high or there is a higher incidence of bird flu around the region, for instance, they might have to step up measures “more aggressively”, such as culling these birds to reduce the risk.
“Clearly, there is no perfect answer. If you want a perfectly safe environment, then yes, we should go all out, guns blazing, to remove every single bird from the sky of Singapore.
“But that’s not a practical approach … You can cull a thousand birds today and tomorrow, another thousand will fly in from somewhere else … So, it’s something we have to take a practical view and escalate when necessary,” Dr Koh said.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Doha: A race of carrier pigeons were held recently from Al-Qassim in Saudi Arabia to Hazm Al-Markhiya in Doha.
The 800-kilometre challenge was organized by the carrier pigeon section of Youth Hobbies Center, which comes under the Ministry of Culture and Sports.
The popular race saw 16 competitors with 222 carrier-pigeons taking part.
Setting a record, the pigeons reached the destination at the Youth Hobbies Centre building at Hazm Al-Markhiya in Doha on the same day starting from Al-Qassim, Saudi Arabia.
One of the participants from Qatar said: “The record and the enthusiasm of participants in this race may help to developing this hobby in the country.”
Ali Al Ajmi came first in the challenge with his champion pigeon. Injaz Loft with two pigeons stood second and third. Pigeon of Khaled Al-Emadi was fourth, Katara Loft fifth, Rawdat Al Hamama came sixth and pigeons named Darb Al Saei took positions from seven to eleven.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Hackney Council’s proactive work to rid the streets of pigeons and gulls has made it the second biggest spender on bird control in the country.
Figures obtained by the BBC show the town hall forked out £162,683 between 2013 and 2016 on ridding streets of pigeons and gulls, second only to Southwark.
The sum has been put down to the town hall staying ahead of the problem.
Neighbourhoods and parks boss Cllr Feryal Demirci, said: “Our in house pest control team proactively deals with pigeons on our 35,000 council homes as well as private homes and commercial premises.
“Prevention is better than cure, so last year we installed pigeon proofing measures on over 500 buildings.
“This means we get relatively few complaints about pigeons from residents, as we try and sort the situation out before it becomes too serious.”
Dee Ward-Thompson, technical manager at the British Pest Control Association, said proofing was the ultimate way to tackle the problem.
“It’s the best solution,” she told the Gazette. “Proactive work is the right way to go about it and we fully support that. “But if you do one building it can encourage them to move on to the one next door. What a lot of councils are doing is working with other building owners to proof as many as possible.”
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Some prison guards intercepted a pigeon trying to deliver a cellphone to inmates inside a facility in Brazil, corrections officials in the country have said.
The Department of Penitentiary Administration said guards at the Nilton Silva prison in Franco da Rocha spotted some inmates attempting to catch a pigeon that was wearing a vest-like garment apparently designed for smuggling contraband into the prison.
The guards intercepted the bird and discovered the vest contained a cellphone and battery.
In a similar vein, Telegraph reports that, two carrier pigeons carrying mobile phones to detainees at a prison in Sorocaba, 62 miles from Sao Paolo, were intercepted.
“Penitentiary agents found the pigeons outside the Danilo Pinheiro prison but, fortunately, the birds did not have time to enter the prison building with the material,” said Rosana Alberto.
Each pigeon was carrying a small bag containing a mobile phone and charger, she said.
The birds were caught on two successive days, last Wednesday and Thursday, February 9 and 10.
The use of pigeons to smuggle contraband into jail is the latest twist in a ongoing struggle by criminal networks to deliver forbidden goods into Brazil’s prisons.
Criminal organizations like “Red Commando” in Rio de Janeiro or the “First Commando of the Capital” in Sao Paulo, which are well established in the detention centres, have extensive supply networks.
In the past they have use accomplices, from lawyers to corrupt prison guards, to smuggle in banned substances, weapons and mobile phones to the detainees, according to the police.
The goods are then traded or used to organise crimes from inside the jails.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
A PERSISTENT pigeon feeder has vowed to continue his hobby despite being fined £300 by a court and warned he faces jail if he continues.
Paul Charlton is known as the ‘Pigeon Man’ in Bath, Somerset, where he draws large crowds by allowing dozens of birds to balance on his arms and head.
Last year he was slapped with a Community Protection Notice by the council but was convicted of breaching it on a number of occasions.
He has now been handed a two-year Criminal Behaviour Order and warned he will be hauled back before magistrates and jailed if he breaches it.
But Charlton, 42, claims that feeding the birds is his ‘profession’ and he is refusing to pay the fine or stop encouraging the airborne menaces.
He told Bath Magistrates’ Court: “I’m going to carry on feeding the pigeons. I will have to go to prison before I give you a single penny.”
Charlton was spotted breaching his order on three occasions – May 9, May 10 and September 23 last year.
He denied three counts of breaching the notice against him but was convicted in his absence on November 21.
Last year the birdman was slapped with a Community Protection NoticeThe eccentric performer earns a living by balancing pigeons on his arms, shoulders and head and gives members of the public grain to feed them in exchange for coins.
Speaking before the sentencing, he said: “This has been my job for the past four years. It is how I pay my rent and my bills. I make a living out of it.
“It’s my occupation whether people want to see it as an occupation or not. It makes people happy.“
Charlton, 42, claims that feeding the birds is his ‘profession’Barrister Carrie-Ann Evans, acting for Bath and North East Somerset Council, told the court: “He understood what was required of him to stop feeding the pigeons.
“Despite this he carried on feeding the birds and providing grain.”
She also read out a victim statement from the manager a café by the Roman Baths, who said: “Paul Charlton feeds the pigeons directly outside my premises.
“We have a responsibility to make sure the tables are clean and hygienic.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
MOSUL, Iraq – For the first time in over two years, flocks of white and grey pigeons can be seen circling Mosul’s rooftops.
Among the many rules imposed by the Islamic State group when it seized the northern Iraqi city was a ban on breeding or flying the birds, which many Iraqis keep as pets or raise for food. The extremists feared young men practicing the hobby would neglect their religious studies or spy on female neighbors from the rooftops.
Many Mosul residents slaughtered their flocks or confined them to cages, fearing detention or death if they were found out — but 17-year-old Mustafa Othman couldn’t bring himself to do it.
“I couldn’t bear locking them up, my heart wouldn’t allow me to do it,” he said. “They were created to fly.”
Othman would sneak upstairs to feed his birds. He couldn’t clap or yell to fly them in formation, but he left the hatches open so they could come and go.
“Every time he came up here, he risked his life,” said his brother, Afan. “It’s crazy, but he loves them.”
Othman’s father gave him his first birds when he was just 11 years old. He always loved animals, and the pigeons were one of the few pets his family allowed him to have in their small home.
Their rooftop and the balconies betrayed other secrets kept from Islamic State militants, who overran Mosul in the summer of 2014 and imposed their harsh version of Islamic law.
The Othmans threw a blanket over a satellite dish near the pigeon coop, so they could keep up with the news. They hung thick curtains across balconies so that women in the family could water plants and hang laundry without wearing the all-encompassing veils mandated by the extremist group.
When Iraqi forces at last drove IS from the neighborhood earlier this month, Othman celebrated their liberation by releasing his birds into the smoke-filled sky. “All I felt was happiness,” he said.
Today, the birds share the skies with U.S.-led warplanes and Iraqi helicopters, as Iraqi forces work to drive IS out of the remainder of the city. Over the last three months, they have fought their way from the east to the Tigris River, which divides the city in two, but IS still rules western Mosul.
“Sometimes, birds we don’t know land on our roof and they have cigarettes tied to their ankles,” said Younis Fathi, Othman’s uncle. He assumes the birds are used by smugglers to reach IS-ruled neighborhoods, where smoking is forbidden.
The streets below Othman’s rooftop betray the heavy toll the war has taken on the city. Buildings are flattened, walls are pockmarked and bridges destroyed. Just across the street, the bodies of two IS militants have been left to rot in a building destroyed by an airstrike.
But Othman mostly looks upward where the birds wheel overhead in formation.
“I would have died for them,” he says. “But we survived.”
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.