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.
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.
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.
The success of a pollution-fighting pilot program involving pigeons and the Internet of Things has taken flight in a big way. This month, it has expanded to involve humans. The Pigeon Air Patrol recruited about 100 volunteers in London to wear air quality sensors.
But this newest phase never would have happened without the innovative thinking of Pigeon Air Patrol creator Pierre Duquesnoy. Duquesnoy, who works at the London office of marketing and technology agency DigitasLBi, says he came up with the notion of giving pigeons connected air sensors as part of a Twitter contest called #PoweredByTweets, in 2015.
He took part in the contest with his then creative partner, Matt Daniels. „At that point I was learning about air pollution,” he says. „I had read a few papers on the subject, and one said there was a need for more data about the problem in London.”
See also: Tech and the environment
The city has a number of met stations that provide very exact readings, he says. But they are in fixed places, so cannot track air as it moves around. Since people cannot see the dirt and poisons in the air, it is hard to get them to react to it.
„It’s a problem that you can’t see,” says Duquesnoy. „And that means people don’t think about it. I thought: ‘How could we wake people up and at the same time get more data?’” The Pigeon Air Patrol concept woke people up enough to win one of two first place prizes in #PoweredbyTweets. At that point, though, it was just a concept. Duquesnoy was not sure if it would go any further.
Then Duquesnoy took a phone call from a Paris-based startup called Plume Labs, which is working towards cleaner air around the world. Plume had an ultra-light air quality sensor. Would he like to use it for the Pigeon Air Patrol? Duquesnoy leapt at the idea.
But he soon found that hooking pigeons up to a data capture system was easier said than done. For a start, the birds had to be happy flying with sensors on their backs. That meant stripping the already small sensors down to their bare basics, to make them as light as possible. Then tiny jackets had to be built in order to hold the sensors in place. The Pigeon Air Patrol team worked with a racing pigeon owner and a vet to train 10 pigeons to fly with the sensors.
The team released the birds from a number of points around the city, at the height of rush hour every day for a week. The effort paid off.
For the first time, the sensors measured ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and volatile compounds, giving the team important data to show pollution levels right across the city.
The pigeons provided data over the mobile phone network that would have been hard to get any other way, especially since the use of drones is controlled in London. The birds crossed London in about half an hour, a fraction of the time it would have taken to cover the same distance at ground level, and showed pollution levels in the sky above Londoner’s heads.
Perhaps the biggest gain of all, though, was that the Pigeon Air Patrol campaign helped turn air pollution tracking into a top news item. Major news outlets, from The Guardian to CNN, ran the story. As a result, Plume Labs was able to secure people and funding for the next phase of its fight against pollution. This involves having humans wear the sensors, and getting data on an ongoing basis rather than just for a week.
The people phase kicks off in January, and will involve more complex sensors. London’s Imperial College will provide data analysis. In the meantime, the feathered heroes of the Pigeon Air Patrol have gone back to normal life in the loft.
But Internet of Things (IoT) expert Dima Tokar, of MachNation, says there are plenty more networked animals springing up in their place. „In the farming industry, several firms are developing solutions for livestock management,” he says. „In the consumer space, there are a variety of connected solutions for pet tracking.”
Other connected-animal applications include using sensors to track and protect endangered species from poachers and rogue hunters, and even a Dutch company that trains birds of prey to hunt down hostile drones, Tokar says.
„Creating new revenue streams and driving down costs are major benefits that are driving the adoption of the IoT,” he says. „All industries, including those working with animals, are likely to be revolutionized.”
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.
Around 1,700 pigeons fluffed their feathers and strutted their stuff at the UK’s premier showcase at Blackpool’s Winter Gardens over the weekend. The birds were judged for their good looks and general composure with a winner and a supreme champion chosen from the flock.
It was the 45th annual British Homing World Show and the 40th to be held at Blackpool, drawing pigeon fanciers from across Europe.
Visitors had the chance to peruse around 200 stalls promoting specially designed pigeon lofts and veterinary services during the two-day event.
Organiser Ian Evans of the Cheltenham-based Royal Pigeon Racing Association said: “It was very successful, we’ve probably had about 15,000 people visiting so it’s been very very busy so it will have had a good impact on the local economy here.“
Also we have the UK’s 10 best-performing racing pigeons here which will be going to Brussels next week to compete in the Pigeon Olympiad.”
Pigeon racing became a sport of the masses in the early 1900s, and pigeons were used extensively as message carriers by armies on both sides during the two World Wars.
In the UK the sport probably reached its height of popularity after World War Two.
Each year the BHW Show collects money to give to charity and the £55,000 raised last year was presented to a variety of different charitable causes.
Over its last 40 years the show has raised £3m for charity.
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.
Activists involved in rescuing and providing medical treatment to birds that get injured due to kite strings are a worried lot. According to them this year with the number of kites being seen in the sky being much higher compared to last year, it could mean that the number of mortalities and injuries will only rise in the coming days.
In fact by Saturday evening there were over 150 birds reported to be injured with various organisations working for birds. “We have got around 100 birds from across South Mumbai and Western suburbs mostly pigeons who have been injured and are being treated,” said Harsh Shah of Bird Helpline who along with several volunteers had set up several camps across Mumbai.
Shah voicing his concern said that this year since the Kite Festival fell on a weekend there were more people seen flying kites. “Our observation across the city suggests that this year there were more kites, which means that more chances of the manjha being left on branches, walls and other places where birds might get stuck. Normally the cases of bird injuries begin flooding a day after the festival,” he said.
Bharat Amin a Ville Parle resident who found a kite hanging and struggling to free itself from the manjha said that it took four hours to free the bird. “The birds feet got stuck in manjha that was left on a tree at Irla and we spotted it at around 1pm and despite trying call almost everyone for help it was only at 4pm that it could be freed,” he said adding that the fire brigade did not come on time.
Sunish Subramanian Secretary, PAWS- Mumbai said that while they rescued six pigeons one crow and a kite on Saturday they were left stunned while trying to rescue a crow from a tree at Borivali. “As our volunteers saw a crow hanging stuck in manjha, a monkey was spotted making several attempts to free the crow by pulling the branches and even the manjha but without any success it left soon and our volunteers managed to free the bird,” he said.
Mumbai Fire Brigade too was busy as its control room kept buzzing with bird rescue calls. “On an average we receive two calls a day informing about bird stuck in majha but on Saturday we received around 25 phone calls from across Mumbai related,” said a fire brigade official.
By Saturday evening, there were over 150 birds reported to be injured with various organisations working for birds. “We have got around 100 injured birds from across South Mumbai and Western suburbs, mostly pigeons, in need of treatment” said Harsh Shah of Bird Helpline.
Shah said since this year the festival fell on a weekend there were more people seen flying kites.
Mumbai Fire Brigade too was busy as its control room kept buzzing with bird rescue calls. “On an average we receive two calls a day informing about bird stuck in majha but on Saturday we received around 25 phone calls from across Mumbai related,” said a fire brigade official.
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.
