by Ryan Ponto | Jan 26, 2017 | Bird Netting
Bath’s Pigeon Man has appeared in court to learn his punishment after continuing to feed pigeons despite a community protection notice ordering him to stop.
Paul Charlton was fined £300 and ordered to pay £300 costs and a victim surcharge £30 after being convicted of three charges of failing to comply with the community order.
The defendant was also handed a criminal behaviour order which will last for two years.
In those two years the pigeon man must not provide food for members of the public to feed the birds – and he must also stop feeding them himself.
If Charlton breaks the CBO by continuing to feed the pigeons, he could face time in prison.
The 42-year-old got his nickname thanks to his act of balancing pigeons on his arms, shoulders and head and giving members of the public grain to feed them in exchange for loose coins.
Despite being hit with a large fine and the threat of prison, Charlton told Magistrates: “I’m going to carry on feeding the pigeons.”
He also said he would not pay his fines and that “I will have to go to prison before I give you a single penny.”
Last year, Charlton was issued with a community protection notice by B&NES Council ordering him to stop feeding the pigeons.
But on May 9, May 10 and September 23 he was seen by council officers to be carrying on his act.
Charlton denied three counts of breaching the notice against him, but was convicted in his absence on November 21.
The defendant appeared for sentencing in Bath Magistrates’ Court on December 19, but the case was adjourned until today (January 23) pending a psychiatric report.
Just 10 days after his first appearance for sentencing, the pigeon man was back outside the Roman Baths, where he told the Bath Chronicle: “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.”
The defendant arrived at court today in his performance attire – a feathered hat, blue scarf and long coat.
Barrister Carrie-Ann Evans told the court on behalf of the local authority: “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.
“Many members of the public are uncomfortable and often find the number of pigeons unacceptable.
“We have had pigeons fly into the shop on multiple occasions. They have landed on our cakes which then have to be thrown away.
“There is an absolutely clear correlation between his presence and the pigeons. There’s an emotional cost of frustration.”
Charlton responded that it was “a bit rich” for the court to go at him about feeding birds and called the legal system “totally corrupt”.
After some deliberation, Magistrates decided to accept the local authority’s application for a CBO against Charlton.
Mr Taylor said: “Mr Charlton there are three offences that have been brought before us.
“And for each of those offences you will be fined £100 – that’s £300 in total.
“You will also pay a victim surcharge of £30 and £300 in contribution to costs.”
Charlton started putting his coat on while receiving his sentence and left the court while magistrate Peter Taylor was still talking.
He exited court with a final “Tata”.
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 Ryan Ponto | Jan 22, 2017 | Bird Netting
MUMBAI – Indian media, which leaves no stone unturned to defame Pakistan, believes that Pakistan’s secret agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), is planning to carry out terrorist attacks in Mumbai through pets.
Producing empty rhetoric, Zee News claimed that Pakistan’s intelligence agency can send dogs strapped with explosives to hit the markets and other packed areas of Mumbai and Maharashtra.
According to the news channel, the Mumbai police and Maharashtra anti-terrorist squad have issued alerts to warn the people to inform the police if they find any dog or other pet wearing anything suspicious.
It has also warned that the agency would try to hit the areas through dogs where most destruction could be spread by killing most people. The police have kept a vigilant eye on people roam in the city with animals, the channel said.
Targeting Pakistani film stars and the Prime Minister, the channel concluded,“Raeeson aur shareefon ki bheer ma kbi b koi terrorist ghus sakta hai”.
Earlier, the Indian police had claimed to arrest “spy pigeon” after crossing border from Pakistan carrying a threatening note for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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 Ryan Ponto | Jan 15, 2017 | Bird Netting
SANLIURFA, Turkey: As nighttime approaches in Sanliurfa, southeastern Turkey, most of the alleyways of the city’s old bazaar are emptying out, except for one. The bustle of daytime trading has died down, but on this little street, a stream of men carry cardboard boxes filled with pigeons to a cluster of three teahouses.
Here, they sell the birds at Sanliurfa’s famed auctions to a dedicated band of pigeon keepers and breeders, a pastime that has been thriving for hundreds of years across the region and over the nearby border into war-torn Syria.
In a country where the minimum wage is about 1,400 liras ($367) a month, enthusiasts regularly easily spend hundreds of dollars for one bird. “I once sold a pair of pigeons for 35,000 Turkish lira,” auctioneer Imam Dildas says.
“This is a passion, a hobby you cannot quit. I’ve been known to sell the fridge and my wife’s gold bracelets to pay for pigeons.”
Sanliurfa is just 50 kilometers from Syria, in a southeastern region rocked by its own clashes between government troops and Kurdish insurgents.
But the trade has taken the turmoil in its stride and carried on.
In the early days of the conflict next door, there was a glut of birds on the market as enthusiasts from northern Syria fled into Turkey with their pigeons.
“Prices fell due to oversupply but as the conflict escalated and there were no more pigeons coming from Syria, prices rose again,” 23-year-old breeder Ismail Ozbek says.
He keeps about 200 pigeons – together worth about 50,000 lira – in lofts fitted with alarms and closed-circuit TV cameras.
At the auction, men sip tea and smoke cigarettes as Dildas picks up a bird and shows it to the crowd. He gives a starting bid price and buyers shout out their offers.
Prices vary from 30 to 3,500 lira. Some birds wear silver adornments on their feathers or feet to boost their value.
At the end of the night, Dildas has sold around 13,000 lira worth of birds. His commission is 10 percent.
When they are not trading, most of the city’s pigeon fanciers head to the rooftops at sunset and let their birds stretch their wings. Hundreds fill the sky – a familiar sight in the city – before following their training and heading home.
“The birds are my friends. They give me peace,” 55-year-old enthusiast Resit Guzel says.
He gives his 70 birds quality feed and regular vitamins.
“Upkeep … costs 5 lira a day, which is not much. Even if it cost me more, I wouldn’t mind,” he says.
“They have been my hobby for the last 40 years … You can only understand if you keep 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.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by Ryan Ponto | Jan 3, 2017 | Bird Netting
Overcast with a chance of rain, only -3 Celsius outside and this is how 2017 arrives in our area.
Rock pigeons are freely clustered around a slice of offered white bread just across the street from CBC as I walk by. Two European starlings; European, because they were introduced around the 1890s in New York’s Central Park, fly from an open window area in one of the downtown renovation projects.
No doubt they have a warm temporary niche in one of the buildings at night and are leaving some gifts on the floor.
I have to kill some time while waiting for an appointment so I walk by several regulars on the street and make my way into the downtown mall that use to be Sudbury’s sole mecca. Winter promises to be cold for bird watching and nothing beats a warm head like the colourful touques of wool made in Nepal.
I decide to visit one of the more unique stores in the mall and check out his fine collection of hats and mitts. Entering the portal, I break a beam of hidden light and off goes a Christmas tune to announce an arrival. A very friendly and sincere greeting awaits from a gentleman sitting low behind a counter.
The New Year is a start of meeting new people and having new experiences. I casually ask the owner if Christmas was good to him and with a friendly response he says, “It was.” We get into a brief conversation about Buddha, Christ and other religions and how life can be good or bad, but to face these challenges, we can always think about others and how they may have had to cope with their individual and group challenges.
Quiet a conversation while looking for a hat! We ended our chance meeting on a friendly note with the caveat that a positive outlook certainly helps the day go by.
As I leave the mall, the outside walkway and snow triggers some reminiscent thoughts about the time the mall was called Bonimart, and a time when Eaton’s was here.
A bird we took for granted lived along the eaves of the upper parking lot and would use the Virginia creeper that used to attach itself to the walls of the adjacent buildings. House sparrows were introduced at the turn of the past century like the European starlings. They made their way across much of the country over the years and had been established in Greater Sudbury, numbering in the hundreds downtown.
Sudbury’s annual Christmas bird count says it all. In 1981, there were 1,361 house sparrows counted. In 1991, there were 162 counted. Ten years later in 2001, there were none found, and have not been seen since during the count.
Their disappearance is a mystery, but habitat changes, insect availability and a possible disease are not ruled out. The species can still be found in other larger cities like Toronto.
It might be expressed as part of the yin and yang of wildlife. Some species do well, become established and last a long time in a given area, while other species come across an obstacle that alters their lifestyle. Sudbury is no different in offering these changes as time moves on.
As for the hat, orange and white seems good this year.
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 Ryan Ponto | Dec 26, 2016 | Bird Netting
Police do not actively pursue them despite complaints
A rash of racing pigeon thefts across the city have left many breeders high and dry. Having lost their expensive birds to theft, many say that police seldom pay attention to their ‘pigeon theft’ complaints.
For years now breeding of exotic birds has been lucrative business for professional breeders. However, of late, protecting these birds from thieves has become a difficult task.
Many instances over the last few weeks had shown that there was very little help from police in rescuing the birds, breeders said. According to them, police authorities have their hands full with law and order cases and seldom show any interest in recovering the stolen birds.
R.T. Venkatesh, a resident of Marai Malai Nagar, has been a bird enthusiast and a breeder for several years. Recently, he had been shocked to find over 20 of his pigeons — many of which were prized one — missing. He said that although the police took his complaint, he was unable to get much help from them as they had other ‘pressing’ matters to attend to.
R. Murugan, another pigeon breeder residing in Perungalathur, had a similar experience. Over 100 of his racing pigeons had been stolen and when he had approached the police, they had asked him for photos of his pigeons and also sought information about persons he had his suspicions on.
M. Karunanidhi, a retired Superintendent of Police, said such kind of thefts would be registered under cattle and poultry theft. But cases where the stolen birds were in large numbers, it is considered a serious crime.
He said even if the police were able to apprehend the thieves the victim’s task of proving that the robbed birds belonged to him/her is onerous.
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 Ryan Ponto | Dec 20, 2016 | Bird Netting
Scottish Parliament hawks to remain to control pigeons Hawks at the Scottish parliament. Picture: PHIL WILKINSON 10:11Monday 02 January 2017 1 HAVE YOUR SAY SCOTTISH Parliament bosses look set to carry on flying hawks and falcons at Holyrood to scare away pigeons – even though they accept the number has come down as much as it is ever likely to. Birds of prey were brought in eight years ago as a deterrent after other measures such as bird wire, netting and anti-roosting spikes all failed. A year ago, the parliament said the £16,000 a year contract was due to be reviewed and the Evening News revealed Holyrood bosses were considering ending it. Monthly monitoring had shown there were between 11 and 18 pigeons regularly on the Holyrood campus and officials felt it may not be possible to reduce it any further. But no review has yet
taken place and now the parliament says the future of the contract with NBC Bird and Pest Solutions will only be looked at when the bigger high-level maintenance contract, of which it is a part, comes up for renewal in October 2017. And despite the previous suggestion that the use of birds of prey would probably come to an end, parliament officials now say it is likely to continue. But MSPs questioned why Holyrood should carry on paying out money if the hawks have now done their work. The pigeon problem plagued the Holyrood building right from the start with its many nooks and crannies proving attractive perches. Muck and feathers were blown through vents on to researchers’ desks and some birds even got into MSPs’ offices. Monthly monitoring reports for the past year, released under freedom of information, no longer give average totals for the number of pigeons counted at the Holyrood campus but do highlight hotspots, particularly the MSP block. Some of the politicians working there urged a review. Lothian Tory MSP Jeremy Balfour said: “If the contract runs out this year, it is a good time to review the whole situation. Just to renew it automatically would be a mistake. “It’s quite a lot of money and if we have reached the optimum number [of pigeons] and the situation cannot be made any better, it is not the best use of public money. I will write to the chief executive and seek clarification of the position and ask if we have now got as much as we can out of it.” And Lothian Green MSP Alison Johnstone also urged a review. She said: “It’s important we know how effective this spending is. We should not continue with a contract that costs £16,000 a year unless we are clear it is proving effective. “The evidence base must be available and I would welcome site of it to help parliament come to a decision as to whether or not this ongoing expenditure should be continued.” A parliament spokeswoman said there were no plans to end the NBC contract early. She added: “Like many buildings in Edinburgh, a small number of pigeons visit regularly. We are aware the problem can never be fully eradicated and it is likely we will continue with the current approach.”
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)
