by johnnymarin | Oct 31, 2018 | Pigeons in the News
Pigeon fanciers are being asked to come forward to rehome a flock of unclaimed domestic birds.
The RSPCA wildlife centre in Nantwich is on the lookout for bird-lovers to re-home a total of 20 domestic pigeons which have found their way into the care of staff there.
Stapeley Grange regularly receives a number of domestic birds throughout the year, but particularly during the quieter winter months when there is less wildlife in the hospital but it can be difficult to find new homes for them.
Many of the pigeons are ex-racers but there are also fancy pigeons who are looking for new homes.
Lee Stewart, manager at Stapeley Grange, which is based in London Road, said: “All animals deserve a second chance and we are always keen to find new homes for every domestic pigeon which comes through our doors, if we are unable to reunite them with their owner.
“It can be hard finding new homes for them as not many people have the facilities to house pigeons. We are keen for anyone who would like to rehome our pigeons to get in touch with us.”
One of the pigeons which is currently looking for a new home was found grounded in Sandbach on September 7.
After two weeks care and recovery, he is now on the lookout for a new home as his original owner can’t be traced.
Lee added: “Before deciding to rehome any birds it’s important to consider if you have the knowledge, time, facilities, money and commitment needed to care for them.
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.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by johnnymarin | Oct 29, 2018 | Pigeons in the News
Two sisters in Hong Kong have taken it on their shoulders to rescue and nurse wounded pigeons in their area.
The sisters, named Inez and Gian, run their group “Hong Kong Pigeon and Dove Rescue” on Facebook where they promote awareness on the welfare of the magnificently plumed birds.
Their initiative was founded four years ago, after Gian rescued a pigeon and took it to the veterinarian for check up. According the South China Morning Post on Oct. 13, Gian had to go to many veterinarians until one was willing enough to look at the injured pigeon. The pigeon was eventually put down.
“Looking back, I think I could’ve nursed it back to health and kept it,” Gian was quoted as saying. “Even if it never flew again, at least it would’ve lived.”
This moment was what compelled Gian and Inez, both in their 30s, to finally push through with their pigeon rescue group. Many friends supported the sisters in their initiative and, in just a year, had over a thousand members in the Facebook community.
“There aren’t many locally available pigeon care resources and providers, unlike those for cats and dogs,” Gian added. “So we created a platform where people can exchange pigeon care tips and learn how to care for sick and injured pigeons without professional intervention.”
Despite their vast efforts, however, there are still people who think lowly of pigeons and scorn at the sisters’ undertaking. Some are also misinformed when it comes to the birds, and automatically connect pigeons with diseases. For Inez and Gian, however, pigeons are just victims of prejudice.
“Many people automatically associate pigeons with avian flu, partly because of public health campaigns,” Gian said in the report. “I see where they’re coming from, but I hope they would delve deeper into this issue instead of simply believing everything they hear.”
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.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by johnnymarin | Oct 23, 2018 | Pigeons in the News
Signs put up by the council in West Ealing asking people not to feed pigeons have been spray-painted over in the night less than 24 hours after being put up and again after being cleaned just days later.
A small public space on the corner of Melbourne Avenue has become the centre of a bizarre squabble between local pigeon-lovers and annoyed residents, who are utterly fed up with the droppings the birds leave.
Ealing Council recently rejuvenated the spot in response to resident pressure, turning it from untended grass to a paved area with flowerbeds.
But the vandalism last Friday (October 5) and on Monday (October 8) shows the determination of the bird-feeders.
West Ealing Neighbours chairman David Highton, 67, said: “There’s been a long-running problem here for years with people feeding pigeons.
“It attracts birds to an area where they cause considerable difficulties and people get quite passionate about it on both sides, hence someone taking all the trouble to come out in the dead of night to do this.
“If you get that many pigeons together in one place there can be health risks, what with all the diseases they carry, and their droppings block the gutters.
“Someone spent £3,000 putting spikes on their fence and roof and a young couple had to spend £500 getting their gutters cleaned because otherwise the water spills over.”
But clearly not everyone sees the birds as a pest.
What diseases are carried by pigeons?
People living in areas with a lot of pigeon droppings and feathers could be at risk of the following diseases:
- Yeast infection – widely spread by pigeons and can affect the skin, mouth and lungs. Symptoms include bad breath, bloating and joint pain
- Salmonella and E.coli – both bacteria are carried by pigeons and can cause diarrhea and stomach pains. Salmonella also causes fever, while E.coli causes vomiting
- Parrot fever – caught from inhaling bacteria from dry droppings, a very rare but often fatal disease which can cause bloody coughing and brain swelling
- Histoplasmosis – a fungal disease caught by inhaling spores. It causes flu-like symptoms including chest pains, fever and fatigue. Can be fatal for those with weakened immune systems
- Cryptococcosis – another fungal disease found in droppings at around 80% of nesting sites. It can cause a serious pneumonia-like infection in those with weakened immune systems
- St Louis encephalitis – a virus carried by pigeons and transmitted to humans via mosquito bites. It causes fever, dizziness, nausea and headaches and can lead to infection of the nervous system
Mr Highton added: “[Some] people feel it is their right to feed the birds and they come round on a regular basis. Residents have tried to ask them not to do this but some people can get quite abusive.
“West Ealing Neighbours will look after the flower beds and we are keen to make the place look as attractive as possible but given the chance the pigeons will walk all over it as they have in the past and wreck it.
“I’m not personally one who would say that we should get rid of all the pigeons but there’s some places that are not appropriate to feed them because of the health risks and the damage to people’s homes.”
At some point during last Friday night (October 5), after 7.30pm, signs instructing people not to feed pigeons were completely painted over with black spray paint, having only just been installed.
The signs were cleaned on Monday (October 8) morning but again defaced during the night.
A resident who wishes to remain nameless for fear of retribution said: “I have basically got an infestation of pigeons on my house that I cannot do anything about.
“It makes the area look really unsightly to have a massive horde of pigeons defecating everywhere and it’s causing me and my neighbours a massive amount of stress.”
‘The bane of my existence’
“At times there have been up to 30 pigeons defecating all over my property, it means I have to pay people to clean my gutters and have to clean droppings off the front of my house every few weeks.
“The noise they make is also really loud, I struggle to even watch TV. It’s honestly the bane of my existence and really soul-destroying to see people keep feeding them and encouraging them to congregate here.
“I have seen people drive up and tip huge bags of birdseed there on a couple of occasions and every morning a few people drop bread.
“I can appreciate different cultures have different relationships with pigeons than mine does and I try to speak to them nicely but some of them just seem unhinged. One told me that pigeons were the reason we won World War Two so he was going to keep looking after them.
Religions that encourage the feeding of pigeons
Some religious groups encourage the feeding of pigeons.
Sikh high priest and warrior Guru Gobind Singh is often associated with pigeons and many Sikhs believe that, when they are reincarnated, they will never go hungry if they have fed the birds in a previous life.
Some religious groups also believe that when a person dies his or her soul assumes the form of a bird, very often a pigeon, and that by feeding birds they are caring for the souls of their departed ancestors.
The pigeon is a revered animal in India and flocks numbering in the thousands are fed daily outside Hindu temples throughout the country.
“We spent a long time complaining to the council and they eventually paid a significant sum to have the area redeveloped. At the time I thought it would make people change their behaviour but the signs were painted over instantly.
“If this person’s prepared to spray public signs, which is a criminal act, it seems like they would do whatever is necessary to keep feeding the birds.”
In response to the vandalism Ealing councillor Mik Sabiers said: “Pigeons are pests and it’s been an offence to feed them since the 1981 Environment Act.
Should people feed pigeons?
“They impact on residents’ enjoyment of our parks and open spaces and there is a cost to cleaning up after these birds.
“If someone is seen feeding pigeons, a fixed penalty notice will be issued in line with the council’s policy on fining those caught dropping litter on the borough’s streets.”
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.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by johnnymarin | Oct 22, 2018 | Pigeons in the News
Many different kinds of activities fly here in Las Vegas, but soon, one might not: feeding the pigeons.
It’s currently banned in Henderson and in Clark County, and come a week from Wednesday, Oct. 10, it could become that way in the City of Las Vegas.
Ward One Councilwoman Lois Tarkanian says the ordinance was drafted for health reasons, stemming from numerous complaints.
Tarkanian said, “The ordinance was developed because of complaints we had from city residents about the dirtying of the environment by the pigeons,.Their droppings contain germs which carry diseases and can be very toxic. We are doing this for health purposes.”
While to some it might not seem like a big deal, pest control professional Kevin Rast says it’s not something to joke around about.
“Pigeons aren’t the problem. It’s their waste. The waste itself is actually toxic. It is considered a hazardous substance,” says Rast.
Rast confirmed Tarkanian’s assertion that pigeon waste can carry serious diseases, and that if the wrong person is exposed to high quantities of it, there could be deadly consequences.
Often times, the waste is sucked into air conditioning units and is pumped into buildings, according to Rast.
If a person who suffers from Asthma or another breathing ailment, Rast says, then this poses a serious problem.
“To see 200 or 300 birds on a roof of a building is not unusual at all,” he says.
When people feed the pigeons, Rast says it’s not good for the people.
More pigeons will show up to the area, hoping there will be a new food source. They’ll reproduce, and create even more waste.
When that unnatural food source disappears, it poses a problem for the pigeons.
“There won’t be a food supply there. Then you’re going to cause all kinds of problems for the population itself,” Rast says.
The proposed ordinance defines wild pigeons as “any common pigeon of the species columba livia, also known as a city pigeon, rock dove, rock pigeon or flying rat.”
If the ordinance passes and becomes law, convicted violators could face a fine of up to $1,000 and up to six months imprisonment.
Rast says that it’s best to let the pigeons find their food naturally, so people don’t add more waste to the problem.
“Pigeons are going to find food no matter where they are at,” he said.
The City Council may be voting on this matter on Wednesday, October 17th.
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.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by johnnymarin | Oct 21, 2018 | Pigeons in the News
BOGOTA, Colombia — On a bright Sunday afternoon, a group of government workers walked around Bogota’s most famous square dressed as pigeons, with cardboard beaks covering their noses, as thousands of real birds swarmed overhead and left their droppings on stately monuments.
Flapping their plastic wings and performing brief skits, they urged curious pedestrians not to feed the large flocks that descend each day onto Plaza Bolivar, a grand colonial era square flanked by a Roman Catholic cathedral and Colombia’s elegant congressional building.
“There are too many pigeons here,” said Mauricio Cano, a biologist who led the group of bird impersonators. “Feeding them is bad for people, and for the birds.”
While London has tried to scare unruly pigeons away from train stations by deploying menacing hawks, and Paris has employed contraceptive methods to limit flock sizes, Bogota’s government is trying to fight pigeon overpopulation through educational campaigns that urge people not to feed them.
Officials believe that if people stop nourishing the birds, they will stop concentrating in public squares where their droppings sully historical buildings and put people’s health at risk. If the birds, which aren’t native to Colombia, don’t gather in large numbers, their rate of reproduction is also likely to decrease.
“We do not want to annihilate these pigeons,” says Clara Sandoval, director of Bogota’s animal protection department. “But we need people to give them a chance to return to their natural behavior.”
A study conducted by city biologists found that the square’s pigeon population doubles on weekends to 3,400 birds as the number of tourists who visit the square’s iconic sites also swells.
“In some areas (of the plaza) you can find up to 33 pigeons per square meter,” Cano said.
But convincing people not to give the birds food has proven tricky.
Feeding pigeons corn and taking a photo with them in Bolivar Square has been something of a local tradition for decades.
It also sustains a dozen or so street vendors who sell small bags of pigeon feed for about $1 each.
“I’ve raised four children with this job,” said Lilly Portilla, who has been plying the trade in the plaza for 25 years.
Bogota’s government is offering vendors like Portilla stalls in public buildings, so that they can sell snacks to office workers, instead of pigeon feed to tourists. It’s also offering job skills training children of vendors so that they have options other than following their parents into the business.
But some vendors say they haven’t been included in the job placement program. And others are not convinced that selling snacks to humans will be as profitable as their current job.
Officials said they will eventually ban pigeon feed vendors from the square if they don’t go voluntarily.
“We have to give these birds their dignity,” said Cano, the biologist. “These pigeons should return to green spaces, where they can feed on their own.”
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.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by johnnymarin | Oct 18, 2018 | Pigeons in the News
The Lafayette Racing Pigeon Club will participate in a cross country relay race helping to raise funds for Wounded Warriors. Over a 62 day period homing pigeons will fly a 4,000 mile relay race across 11 states. On September 11 the first team of birds flew from Vancouver, Washington to their home in Salem, Oregon. Teams of homing pigeons will continue these 50-250 mile relay legs until the final team arrives in Daytona Beach, Florida on Veteran’s Day November 11.
Crossing Louisiana the relay will see teams fly from Hamshire, Texas to Lake Charles, then to Lafayette, to Denham Springs, to Amite, to Slidell and a final leg to Pass Christian, Mississippi.
In Lafayette, Fred Werner will release a team of racing homing pigeons at the new Moncus Park.
Werner states that “ Moncus Park is the ideal release site since there are plans to build a Veterans Memorial here for which the park is currently soliciting donations.”
The message Werner is putting on his birds will also honor a famous homing pigeon from 100 years ago, “Cher Ami”.
Cher Ami was a military homing pigeon responsible for saving hundreds of lives by delivering lifesaving messages. Probably best known is the story of the “Lost Battalion” of the American Seventy-Seventh Infantry Division during World War I that had been isolated from other American forces in the Argonne Forest of France. They were surrounded by Germans, had no food and were running out of ammunition. The unit was being shelled by its own guns taking casualties. They had 3 military homing pigeons as the only means of requesting help. The first two unfortunately were shot down. On October 4, 1918 Cher Ami carried a message from Major Charles S. Whittlesey which read :
“WE ARE ALONG THE ROAD PARALLEL 276.4 OUR ARTILLERY IS DROPPING A BARRAGE DIRECTLY ON US. FOR HEAVENS SAKE STOP IT”.
The pigeon flew 25 miles in 25 minutes despite being shot twice, in the chest and the leg carrying the message and blinded in one eye. Badly wounded she arrived in time to stop the firing and save 194 U.S. soldiers. For this heroic service the pigeon was awarded the French Croix de Guerre, a military honor usually reserved for soldiers. She was shipped back to the U.S. with General John J Pershing personally seeing her off. The little pigeon received the best medical care including a false leg to replace the one she lost. Eventually, however, she died of her wounds and is preserved in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C.
The message carried in October, 1918 is the same message Werner will have his birds carry October 2018 from Lafayette to Denham Springs to honor Cher Ami.
All funds raised from this unusual Homing Pigeon Relay Race will be donated to the non-profit Building Homes for Heroes. This organization hands over a customized home debt free to a wounded veteran every 11 days and help honor these wounded vets as the heroes they truly are.
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.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
