by Pigeon Patrol | Nov 27, 2015 | 4-S Gel Bird repellent, Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeons in the News
A new law that allows councils to ban activities in public spaces is leading to “bizarre new criminal offences”, which could see homeless people, buskers and people who feed pigeons prosecuted.
The law is said to have widespread public support but campaigners against heavy regulation say it is confusing and will turn town or city centres into “no-go zones”.
The Manifesto Club says the elderly, young people, buskers and homeless people could be deemed criminals as councils and other authorities introduce a “patchwork of criminal law” as part of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act.
Authorities can use public spaces protection orders (PSPOs) to ban certain activities, the group says.
It highlights areas where certain people are banned from retail parks and housing blocks, while begging and having open containers of alcohol are deemed criminal offences in some areas.
But authorities say the new laws – designed to restrict anti-social behaviour and improve quality of life for residents – appear to be working.
Josie Appleton, director of the Manifesto Club, said: “These powers are so broad that they allow councils to ban pretty much anything.
“The result is a patchwork of criminal law where something is illegal in one town but not in the next, or in one street but not the next.
“This makes it hard for the public to know what is criminal and what is not. These orders will turn town and city centres into no-go zones for homeless people, buskers, old ladies feeding pigeons or anyone else whom the council views as ‘messy’.
“It is astonishing that in the 21st century you could be punished for the crime of selling a lucky charm, ‘loitering’, or failing to leave a retail park within 20 minutes. This looks like a return to the meddling and moralism of 19th-century by-laws.”
In Colchester it is a crime to drive into a retail park after 6pm unless using the facilities. The council said it was necessary to prevent anti-social car meets. In Poole, people are not allowed to beg in certain areas and are required to clean up after their dog, under measures passed in December.
Oxford City Council has passed a PSPO prohibiting people under the age of 21 from entering a tower block, unless they are legally resident or visiting a relative in the block. The council has also proposed a series of restrictions on activities in the city centre, including bans on unlicensed busking, begging and pigeon feeding.
Last night an Oxford council spokeswoman defended the measures. “The unacceptable behaviour of a few has caused a great deal of misery and it is important that we tackle this problem robustly,” she said.
Another four PSPOs drawn up by councils around the country are currently out for public consultation and 19 are under consideration. These include potential bans on amplified music, rough sleeping, loitering around cash machines and the sale of lucky charms and heather.
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 Pigeon Patrol | Nov 26, 2015 | 4-S Gel Bird repellent, Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Spikes
The Morecambe ‘birdman’ said he was surprised to avoid prison after breaching his Anti-Social Behaviour Order for feeding his feathery friends.
Pigeon-lover John Wilkinson appeared before Lancaster Magistrates for breaching the terms of his ASBO and was given a 12 month community and supervision order.
Speaking to the Lancaster Guardian shortly after the case Mr Wilkinson said he thought he would behind bars.
He said: “I am surprised. I was expecting to go to prison. I was singled out, I don’t think I have done anything wrong, it is unjust I feel. I have had a lot of support, I have many friends I never thought I had.”
Jo Bailey was there to support her friend on April 8 and said: “It’s local businesses, not neighbours, they isolate John for feeding pigeons.
“He needs somewhere allocated to him where he can feed the pigeons in peace.”
The court heard Mr Wilkinson was seen on two occasions with another man on August 6 and 19 between Marine Road West and Regent Road feeding pigeons more than half a kilo of bird seed.
He had pleaded guilty to the two offences at an earlier hearing. This was the fourth time the council commenced proceedings in relation to breaches of the order.
The council first applied for an ASBO against Mr Wilkinson in 2012 due to a number of complaints from residents.
Lancaster City Council extended an existing ASBO for a further year to December 5 2015.
The conditions do not prevent Mr Wilkinson from feeding pigeons, but restrict it within 100m of his home on Cavendish Road.
Outside that radius he can feed up to half a kilo of bird seed between the hours of 9.30am and 10.30am on a Monday, Wednesday or Friday. He cannot feed birds at any other time.
Magistrates also ordered Mr Wilkinson to pay a £60 victim surcharge and £80 towards the prosecution’s costs.
Mr Halewood Dodd, defending Mr Wilkinson said: “Every town around the world has flocks of feral pigeons yet they’re seen as a pest in Lancaster and Morecambe and Mr Wilkinson has been subjected to an ASBO as a result.”
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 Pigeon Patrol | Nov 25, 2015 | Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons in the News, UltraSonic Bird Control
THE state of a pigeon-riddled empty shop has sparked an angry outburst.
PEST ANGER Barrow resident John Robinson is sick of pigeons leaving mess outside the former business premises of Warren James in Dalton Road, Barrow. Above: Pigeons leaving through a gap above the rundown shopfront
John Robinson has grown fed-up with the state of the former Warren James jewellers in Dalton Road, Barrow.
The birds can regularly be seen creeping in and out of the rotted fascia sign and their decaying droppings have become stubborn stains on the high street below.
Mr Robinson, 65, says it is blighting Dalton Road and says it is one of a number of grubby units in the town centre. Mr Robinson, of Highfield Road, said: “ I’ve got an industrial disease so can’t taste or smell, but in the sun, my wife tells me it stinks, and we’re expecting people to come into town?
“It’s not just that one shop, there’s quite a few and there’s pigeons in and out. We’ve got these naughty boys doing community service – buy a few power washers and get them cleaning the place up.
“There are about eight or 10 pigeons going in and out of that shop in Dalton Road; there are holes all over it and the sign has fallen on the floor. It’s absolutely disgusting. I’ve lived in Barrow all my life and it disheartens me to see the town centre like that. It’s been said to me that pigeons have got to be protected. Nonsense, feral pigeons are vermin.”
Town centre units are the responsibility of the property owners. Alan Barker, Barrow Borough Council’s streetcare manager, said: “We as a litter collection authority sweep the ground to the standard required, and that bit of Dalton Road gets swept 365 days a year, and then it’s on the continual sweep for the rest of the day.
“The council does not have a pavement scrubbing clause in the contract. The brushes will sweep most of it up but they won’t clean it as though there’s never been anything there. When it gets embedded, that becomes a Cumbria Highways issue.
“We had the same problem in Portland Walk recently (with the unit now occupied by the Sweet Emporium), and it’s other people’s responsibility that’s impacting on what we’re responsible for. It’s the building’s owner who needs to start taking responsibility. It does cause problems, but we can only do what we can with the money available.”
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 Pigeon Patrol | Nov 24, 2015 | 4-S Gel Bird repellent, Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Spikes
ONCE a fortnight, Jenny the Harris hawk regally sits atop the mound at Oxford Castle ruling over her bird kingdom.
The bird of prey’s very presence is enough to keep the masses of feral pigeons in check.
Pest control officer Ade Boler accompanies Jenny to the Oxford Castle Quarter regularly.
Mr Boler, who works for Hawksdrift Falconry, said: “We work in all sorts of locations, like old factories, but this is probably my favourite place to work.
“It’s a beautiful site and Jenny looks the part here too.”
Jenny simply acts as a warning to pigeons, rather as than a predator.
Birds of prey have been used in other areas of the city, including Exeter College, to control bird populations.
The large, partly ruined Norman medieval castle was officially opened as a tourist attraction by the Queen in May 2006.
The castle was originally built in 1071 for William the Conqueror to enable the Normans to control the area.
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 Pigeon Patrol | Nov 23, 2015 | Bird Netting
We’re starting to get reports in concerning an unfortunate incident at the Parce offices located in the Facebook Menlo Park, California office complex.
Earlier today, in an effort to expand Parce’s reach within the developer community, it introduced a new service to take on Amazon’s drone delivery service with a new Parce “Pigeon” service, an initiative to deliver app developers new and unique products centered around on-demand delivery.
Details are sketchy for what we understand is now being compared to the great frozen turkey drop accident (as seen in a 1978 television episode of WKRP) where frozen turkeys were dropped out of a helicopter to unsuspecting observers in a publicity stunt gone bad.
Our understanding is that during the official announcement of the new Parce bird based platform, a number of pigeon’s were released inside the company offices. From what we have heard, the pigeons had been cooped up in cages for several hours and upon release, instinct and nature took over as the executives, attendees and bystanders were bombarded with pigeon droppings.
We’ve been unable to get any official comment, however off the record one observer commented “I’ve never seen any bird act with such specific purpose, the pigeons obviously were well trained in their delivery function, but without packages to drop, well…it looked as if they were determined to drop something.”
We understand no-one was hurt, however Menlo Park area dry cleaning companies were reporting record traffic. We’ll update this report as we learn more.
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 Pigeon Patrol | Nov 22, 2015 | Bird Netting
HOLLISTER, Calif. –
Another Central Coast city is resorting to raptors to get rid of nuisance birds. Instead of hiring a master falconer like Pacific Grove, Hollister city leaders invested in a loudspeaker device. Throughout the day, the sounds of raptors and other birds in distress are blasted through speakers at the Briggs Building.
“We’ve been able to remove the pigeons from the building from the past few weeks and some of the buildings downtown I’ve noticed other city facilities and pigeons aren’t over there either. So it’s kind of worked in this general location,” Hollister City Manager Bill Avera said.
Unlike Pacific Grove, which contracted with a master falconer to walk the downtown corridor with hawks and falcons, the sounds are enough to deter pigeons. Avera said that once the pigeons are conditioned to stay away, there will be fewer sounds.
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)
