by johnnymarin | Sep 2, 2018 | Bird Deterrent Products
Cheating their way to a one million yuan prize, two Chinese competitors in a domestic homing pigeon race smuggled their birds on a high-speed train, taking home the top prize.
The racers, surnamed Gong and Zhang, took part in the annual competition held by Shanghai Racing Pigeon Association (SRPA) last May, Chinese news outlet Legal Daily reports. The race invited people to send their one-year-old birds in a long distance flying challenge starting from central China’s Henan Province to Shanghai in east China, a course covering over 600 kilometers.
A total of 5,850 pigeons took off from the start line in Henan’s Shangqiu City in the morning of May 1. Gong’s and Zhang’s birds were among the competitors. All participants were tagged with a tracking device that timed their flight, and their results would be announced online once the birds reached the destination.
Participating pigeons were required to wear a tracking ring. /Shanghai Morning Post Photo
At around 4:30 p.m., the first pigeon touched the finish line, with the winner breaking the existing record. The bird belonged to Zhang. Within the next hour, another three birds arrived at the goal, all belonging to either Zhang or Gong.
Shocked and baffled, many pigeon racers soon started questioning the results, especially after they discovered that Zhang’s and Gong’s birds covered longer distances with shorter times, Shanghai Morning Post reported last year.
Receiving complaints from multiple participants, SRPA initiated an investigation towards the first 1,000 birds returning to Shanghai and reported the case to the police.
Pigeons qualified for the race were stamped after SRPA’s investigation. /Shanghai Morning Post Photo
When the organization contacted Gong and Zhang, both racers claimed that their birds were already lost or dead. They later voluntarily gave up the cash prizes which totaled over a million yuan (approximately 146,000 US dollars).
The two were later arrested by the police for investigation and confessed they had cheated during the race and killed the winner pigeons.
Gong told police that they had trained the pigeons before the race to fly to a rally point near the starting line. Their plan was to collect the birds during the race and smuggle them back to Shanghai via high-speed train.
Their plan worked. But fearing their fowl play would result in serious legal consequences, Gong and Zhang chose to give up the prizes.
The duo each received a three-year suspended sentence, Legal Daily reported the court’s decision on Monday. A district-level court in Shanghai fined Gong, the criminal mastermind 30,000 yuan (4,400 US dollars) and Zhang 20,000 yuan (2,900 US dollars).
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 | Aug 25, 2018 | Bird Deterrent Products
A tiny, blue chick from the biggest species of pigeon in the world has just hatched at Chester Zoo.
The Victoria crowned pigeon baby is already walking alongside its blue-and-purple mother in its enclosure.
Posting footage of the little chick on Facebook, Chester Zoo said: “Bright blue, rocking the best mowhawk and already strutting its funky stuff!”
Mark Vercoe, assistant curator of birds, said: “Along with the Nicobar pigeon and the tooth-billed pigeon, the Victoria crowned pigeon is a descendant of the dodo – a bird that has been famously lost from the planet because of the actions of humans.
“Hopefully this chick can help us to highlight how important it is that we act for wildlife now; we cannot possibly let these beautiful birds go the same way as their extinct cousins.”
Native to Indonesia and New Guinea, the chick already boasts a crown of lacy feathers on its head.
The species, which is listed as vulnerable to extinction, is supposedly named after Queen Victoria, who had a penchant for wearing elaborate, feathered headwear.
The baby pigeon will be similar to the size of a turkey when fully grown.
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 | Aug 24, 2018 | Bird Deterrent Products
A 41-year-old garage owner threatened to burn his next door neighbour’s house down after he believed their cat had attacked one of his beloved racing pigeons, a court heard.
Behzad Shuwani used racist language against his neighbours in Gloucester during his tirade of abuse.
Judge Michael Harington heard from prosecutor, Robert Morgan-Jones, that there had been ‘historic tensions’ between Shuwani and his neighbours in Jersey Road before the incident on February 8 this year.
Shuwani was subject to a suspended jail term at the time of this incident, the prosecutor explained.
He had been sentenced in September last year for running what was described by the judge as a ‘cannabis factory’ at his car workshop on Jersey Road.
Shuwani pleaded guilty to racially aggravated public order and simple public order offences during the incident in February.
He also admitted that by committing those offences he was in breach of the earlier suspended sentence imposed for drug cultivation at his business.
Gloucester Crown Court heard that the victim, 70-year-old Abdulkadir Susiwala, was at his home when he heard noises outside at about 10.30am.
When he looked out of the first floor window of his property he could see Shuwani next door with a can of paint thinners shouting about Mr Susiwala’s cat attacking one of his racing pigeons.
The court heard Shuwani said: “I am going to burn all of you, and your house, and your cat!”
The police were called, and they could hear shouting in the background of the 999 call, the prosecutor said.
When they arrived Shuwani was ‘immediately aggressive’, and shouted towards racist language towards Mr Susiwala’s home.
Mr Morgan-Jones said the thinners were seized from the property and Shuwani had a lighter on his person when searched.
The court heard a victim statement from Mr Susiwala, who said he believed Shuwani would carry out his threats.
The family said they are worried about going outside their property, and are concerned about any further future problems with Shuwani, who arrived in the UK in 1997 from the Kurdish region of Iraq.
Representing Shuwani, Mark Sharman described it as ‘an unfortunate situation’.
“They do not get on. They do not see eye to eye,” the barrister said.
However he accepted “his words and behaviour were utterly inappropriate”.
Mr Sharman argued this was the first incident despite tensions over the last five years, and there had been no repeat.
“The defendant believed the complainant’s cat had attacked one of his pigeons,” Mr Sharman said.
“He owns approximately 100 racing pigeons. That is very important to him. That reaction though, was deeply inappropriate.”
“For obvious reasons the [racist] language he used was not acceptable,” Mr Sharman told the judge.
Mr Sharman argued it was a “spur of the moment reaction to something that had been bubbling under for some time”.
“I make it clear, I lay no blame at the door of the complainant,” Mr Sharman said, and urged the judge to consider a further suspended sentence.
The judge said: “I am persuaded it would be unjust to activate the suspended sentence you are subject to.
“The old offence was planned, and this was heat of the moment, and entirely different.”
Shuwani was given 15 months jail suspended for two years and ordered to attend 20 rehabilitation activity sessions and complete 120 hours of unpaid work for the benefit of the community.
A restraining order to protect Mr Susiwala and his family was imposed for five years.
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 | Aug 18, 2018 | Bird Deterrent Products
PITTSBURGH – The National Aviary in Pittsburgh just completed a $1.2 million renovation of the historic Tropical Rainforest habitat, and for about 70 endothermic vertebrates that make their home there, that’s just ducky.
While they were re-homed for the past three months during construction, the resident birds, including Victoria crowned pigeons, laughing thrushes, hyacinth macaws, bufflehead ducks and great argus pheasants, have been slowly introduced to their new digs.
A 15-foot waterfall with three pools dominates the space, surrounded by new non-slip flooring, lighting, custom perches and tropical plants and trees.
“It’s all about the birds,” said aviary Executive Director Cheryl Tracy, who unveiled the habitat Friday.
More than 3,100 panes of original glass – 19,600 square feet – were replaced with bird-friendly glass designed to prevent collisions both inside and out. The new dome also maximizes ultraviolet light transmittance to help the wildlife and plants thrive.
The old glass, said Tracy, was failing, resulting in energy loss and water leaks. Luckily the framing, constructed in 1952, was in good condition and able to be restored.
The habitat was designed to mimic a real rainforest, and to encourage nesting and other natural behaviors.
The critically endangered palm cockatoo makes its home in the habitat, as does Wookiee, a two-toed sloth, and Guam rails, which are extinct in the wild. The aviary is leading the effort to breed the birds and reintroduce them to the wild. In addition to the birds who previously lived in the rainforest habitat, about 13 new species will be added.
The project was funded by Colcom Foundation and the Allegheny Regional Asset District, which funds regional assets from one-half of the proceeds of the 1 percent Allegheny County Sales and Use Tax. Over the past 23 years, the district has provided $26 million to the aviary, which is the only independent indoor nonprofit zoo in the U.S. dedicated exclusively to birds.
The completion of the Tropical Rainforest coincides with the 25th anniversary of the aviary’s national designation and renaming as the National Aviary.
“(The renovation) was a labor of love for every single person at the aviary,” said Tracy.
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 | Aug 17, 2018 | Bird Deterrent Products
A remarkably resilient pigeon has defied the odds and survived being trapped down a Cambridgeshire home’s chimney.
The distressed bird was heard to be clawing and flapping for days after it fell and got stuck behind a gas fireplace.
After receiving little support from wildlife experts, the house’s owners turned to a local handyman for help.
The sooty pigeon was released apparently unharmed after a seven day ordeal and flew off to the nearest high tree.
Allison Jackson, in her 60s, and Joan Jackson, 91, of Fulbourn, heard the loud thud of the pigeon plummeting down their chimney earlier this month.
“We heard clawing and we thought it could be mice or a rat. We never had any idea it was a bird,” explained Allison.
“It wasn’t singing a song or anything like that. He was clawing the whole time.”
The two ladies speculated what sort of “monster” had dropped down their chimney and called for help.
“You’re imagination goes wild,” joked Allison.
Technicians from the gas board turned off the supply to the fireplace, but advice from wildlife experts was useless, claims Allison.
No-one seemed to know how to remove the fireplace and there were even recommendations to call the fire service.
“It was just clawing and there was also a banging noise. I suppose it was just trying to get out again,” she added.
She and her mother turned to local handyman David Peat to see if he could rescue the bird.
“They phoned me up and said there’s a noise going on in one of the chimneys,” David explained.
“We didn’t know what it was. It was just making a bad noise.”
A gas technician came to the property and confirmed that a bird was inside the chimney, but still its wait for release went on.
David added: “Days had gone by. I said ‘whatever is in there is going to be dead surely. It couldn’t last that long without food and water’.
“They said: ‘We haven’t heard anything in two days. We’ve given up hope’.
“I went round and rattled the fire from side to side and low and behold he started again.”
David estimated the bird was stuck inside a shoe box-sized space.
“Once he got down the bottom he couldn’t flap his wings inside to get out,” he said.
“How long does a pigeon last like that? It must have been terrible in this heat.”
Eventually David was able to get a electrician to help show him how to remove the fireplace and get the bird out.
“We said he wouldn’t be alive and boy did he put up a fight,” said Allison.
“They got him in the end and he flew up the highest tree.
“It’s such a great relief, thinking about that poor bird down there.”
David added: “There he was all perky. There wasn’t anything wrong with it. We took it round the corner and away it flew.
“The bird was black, it had sooty stuff on it but it looked unscathed.
“I said: ‘It’s going to the nearest lake for a drink and a wash’.”
According to guidance from the RSPCA about ‘living with pigeons’, wire frame structures can prevent the birds settling on chimney stacks.
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 | Aug 12, 2018 | Bird Deterrent Products
Forty-seven-year-old K. Chathura, a seasoned bird fancier from Colombo, makes three trips to Chennai every year, mainly to visit his relatives. During these trips, he visits his favourite grain shop on a narrow lane behind the bus terminus in Mint where he buys grains for racing homing pigeons.
Located on the busy Mint Street, this small square-shaped shop has sacks of gunny bags, and only a little space for customers to walk.
Apparently, racing pigeon fanciers in Colombo also like to buy grains for their birds from this shop. And, Chathura buys grains for a few pigeon fanciers in Colombo.
He says back there, most of these grains, especially safflower and sunflower seeds (which are fed to racing pigeons for its fat content), are not available. Most of the grains for the racing homing pigeons in Colombo are imported from Indonesia.
“Imported grains from Indonesia are of poor quality. In my latest trip to the city a week ago, I brought around 120 kg of grains from the Mint shop,” he says.
“Buying imported grains is easy. But the grains brought from Mohammad Ali’s shop are of high quality as they are selected carefully from the wholesale market there. Also, these grains are locally cultivated and therefore suit native homing pigeons. This is evident from the healthy growth of my birds,” says noted film director and an avid racing pigeon fancier, C. Vetrimaaran.
Fifty-three-year-old Mohammad Ali, who runs the shop along with his wife, Jamila, for more than three decades, says he entered the grains-selling business after dropping out of school as a Class VIII student. Since then, he is running the shop with racing-homing pigeon fanciers as its main customers. The shop also sells grains for cockatiels and African lovebirds.
Racing pigeon fanciers across the State, including Vellore, Ambur, Nagapattinam, Ranipet, Wallajah, Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram, Madurai and Thiruvanamalai visit the grain shop regularly.
Pet lovers from Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kochi, Nellore also place orders with the shop. Most of the 20 pigeon-fancier associations in Chennai, the highest in the country, prefer to buy grains from the shop.
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)
