HOMELESS MAN CAN SUE LOS ANGELES FOR EUTHANIZING HIS PET PIGEONS, FEDERAL JUDGES RULE

A homeless man in Los Angeles has the constitutional right to sue the city after animal control officers euthanized 18 of his pet pigeons, federal judges ruled Tuesday.

A three-judge panel from the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals said Martino Recchia can file a lawsuit against the Los Angeles Department of Animal Services under his Fourth Amendment rights, which bar unreasonable search and seizure. Animal control and law enforcement officers seized Recchia’s 18 pigeons, one crow and one seagull in November 2011 without a warrant after he was questioned by police and allowed them to search his streetside cardboard cages and boxes, according to court documents the Sacramento Bee obtained.

After discovering several of the animals were unhealthy, police were ultimately asked to seize them for a veterinarian euthanization.

A lower district court ruled in the city’s favor during Recchia’s previous lawsuit, but the three federal judges in California are still questioning whether or not his Fourth Amendment rights were violated. Los Angeles Police first confronted Recchia on the street on November 3, 2011, according to court records, where they discovered the 20 pet birds in his possession. The animals were covered in blankets and towels and all had access to food and water. Authorities said the birds were covered in feces, unable to fly freely and the newspaper lining of their makeshift cages were soaked.

 

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)

Indore: Rise in breathing disorder: Blame pigeons’ droppings

Feeding pigeons is considered a philanthropic act but city doctors have a different view. According to doctors, the number of patients suffering from hypersensitive pneumonitis is increasing due to pigeons’ droppings. “Pigeon is a symbol of peace and prosperity and even worshipped by many.

There is no harm in feeding the lovely birds. Harm lies in inhaling the dry micro particles of their droppings,” chest physician Dr Pramod Jhawar said. He said excessive inhalation of particles can lead to asthma and other breathing disorders. “About 10-12 patients in a month are approach us with the problem of hypersensitive pneumonitis and we ask them to sing, kabutar jaa jaa, to get rid of the disease.

Pigeons’ droppings are allergens that trigger breathing disorders. Most of the patients live in multistoreyed apartments where pigeons make nests,” he added. Most common diseases caused by pigeons’ dropping include histoplasmosis and cryptococcosis but in general the doctors treat it is as hypersensitive pneumonitis.

OTHER REASONS

Dr Jhawar said after active smoking, there is threat from second hand or passive smoking. “But third hand smoking, that is, inhaling the smoke or ashes particles that stick on clothes of a smoker and inhaled by children or his loved ones can also trigger asthma,” he said adding, “We cannot prove it through cases but the studies have proved that third hand smoking can also cause asthma.” Other reasons of asthma include pollution, dust mites, pollens and animal fur.

Taking about the number of patients suffering from asthma, paediatric pulmonologist Dr Sanjeev Singh Rawat said 300 million people are suffering from the disease worldwide and the number is about 18 million in our country. “There is no official registration for asthma patients in our country.

In Indore, two lakh people suffer from the disease including 3 percent adults and 15 percent children,” he said. He said asthma treatment like use of inhaler is a last stage treatment. “Inhalers are more appropriate for treatment, as taking tablets is expensive and proves hectic for patients,” he added.

 

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)

Backyard bird feeding ruffles feathers in NE Albuquerque neighborhood

How many birds is too many for a homeowner to feed?

A northeast Albuquerque neighbor claims a nearby home has so many feeders that birds they’re causing a mess, and that neighbor is asking the city to step in.

While plenty of tall trees surrounding the northeast part of Albuquerque, one home in particular near Eubank and Academy has been a magnet for birds for years.

Neighbor Katie Conant lives near the home that draws all the birds.

“If you watch you’ll see ’em flying in,” said Conant, pointing to more than 15-foot tall bush in the neighbor’s yard.

“They’re definitely doing some stuff to encourage more birds to come on site and get a free meal,” said Conanet.

Conant says this year, she’s dealt with a lot more of what the birds leave behind, especially on her pool cover where bird droppings are evident.

“You know it’s a little upsetting, we come out and I’m like, ‘I’m going to have to scrub,” said Conant.

While Conant says she’ll clean up the mess on her own, other neighbors aren’t so happy with the homeowner who’s attracting the birds and have reported the home to the city.

An anonymous neighbor recently sent a complaint to the Albuquerque 311 website, SeeClickFix.com, titled “Pest Pigeons.” The anonymous complaint calls out the neighbor’s home by address, claiming it has “multiple feeders that “attract rodents” and leave “excrement all over.”

The complainant also asked the city if there are “any codes or rules to limit the number of feeders in people’s yards.”

The city of Albuquerque’s Urban Biology Division hasn’t talked to the property owner yet, but the idea of facing questions from the city for backyard bird feeding has the neighbors talking.

“We didn’t have any thought of doing anything,” said Conant, who didn’t write the complaint.

“It’s a nice yard and they enjoy sitting back there and watching the birds, leave them alone,” said Mike Schaeffer, another neighbor who called the complaint “petty.”

The homeowner hadn’t seen the complaint until KRQE News 13 showed him a copy of it on Monday afternoon.

“We’re birders, you know, we love to bird,” said the homeowner, who admitted to having several feeders in his yard.

However, the homeowner, who says he’s fed birds for years in feeders raised off the grounds, doesn’t believe he’s done anything wrong.

“You can look anywhere over town, there’s huge flocks over the power lines, you know, you ought to talk to PNM,” the homeowner chuckled.

The city says it will send someone from the Urban Biology Division to check out the home this week. The department says the only ordinance against bird feeding is specific to pigeons. The ordinance prevents people from feeding pigeons by hand.

 

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)

‘Do not cull pigeons at Darlington covered market’

CONCERN has been expressed over plans to tackle the problem of pigeons swooping around Darlington’s covered market.

The historic market’s new managers say birds roosting under its canopy and fouling around the area represents a potential public health hazard.

Jonathan Owen from Market Asset Management said harbouring pigeons overhead in the market posed a risk to the public, traders and staff and confirmed that the company was attempting to resolve the issue as part of on-going improvement works to the market.

Mr Owen said discussions were on-going with specialist pest control contractors but would not be drawn on rumours that shooting is one of the methods being considered as a resolution to the problem, instead saying various solutions were being discussed.

Members of the public, the League Against Cruel Sports and the Darlington and Teesside Animal Activists are among those calling for the birds to be treated humanely, not culled.

David Jones, from the Pigeon Control Resource Centre, said that the killing of pigeons would only be considered legal if the property owner – Darlington Borough Council – could demonstrate both that the pigeon-related problems were likely to result in a risk to public health or safety and that “all non-lethal methods of control have been tried and found to have failed.”

Mr Jones said: “As far as the law is concerned, it is the property owner’s responsibility to ensure that any pigeon control works carried out are legal.

“Culling cannot be used simply because pigeons are causing damage to a property through fouling. If this were to be done and all other deterrent methods had not been tried first, it would be the property owner who would be legally liable.”

Darlington man Kevin Bland called on MAM to halt their plans, saying: “MAM cannot undertake any action other than to request the involvement of the building owner.

“As the pigeons have been there many years and have not caused health and safety issues for DBC to act up on in such time, that cannot be demonstrated to now be a problem and further, the non-lethal methods of control have been inadequate in their suitability and installation and also poorly maintained, to the extent that they cannot be considered as “tried and failed” as is the requirements of the legislation.”

A spokesman for DBC said MAM had signed a 100-year lease to operate the market and as such, have responsibility for maintaining it.

 

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)

Did dispute over pigeons lead to murder of popular coach?

The death of a popular baseball coach may have been the result of an argument about whether residents should feed the birds in Pershing Field, according to court testimony.

Charles Lowy, 68, is charged with murder for allegedly stabbing Anthony Bello, 77, twice in the chest on April 15. Officials say one of the stab wounds pierced the retired teacher’s lung, causing his death.

During a Monday detention hearing that spanned nearly 90 minutes, Deputy Public Defender Joseph Russo argued the stabbing was out of self-defense and Bello was the aggressor in the case. His motion to have Lowy, who suffers from severe spinal stenosis, released pending his trial was rejected by Superior Court Judge Paul DePascale.

Lowy was described by his attorney as “the birdman of Pershing Field.” Every day he would fill a small bag of bird food, walk to the park – which is less than one block from his home – and spread the food in a circle around him for the pigeons to eat.

But something went wrong during an early morning confrontation between the two men.

According to one witness interviewed by the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, he saw “two old guys roughing it up on the grass” at about 8 a.m. At one point, Bello had his arm around Lowy’s neck and was yelling for someone to call 9-1-1 because Lowry was carrying a knife.

 Russo said, during the hearing, that Bello had previously threatened to file a complaint against Lowy for feeding the birds in the park. Following Bello’s death, his neighbors told The Jersey Journal he hated the park pigeons.

Another apparent witness, who was only identified as a “dog walker” in the park, told a second man interviewed by authorities that the two men were arguing about Lowy feeding the birds. That witness has not given a statement to police.

Those who did provide statements, however, said the suspect had hand tattoos and was wearing a red hoody, blue jeans, and skull rings. A pocket knife was said to be the weapon used in the stabbing.

Assistant Prosecutor Keith Travers said similar clothing and jewelry were found in Lowy’s home when he was arrested. A pocket knife with blood stains was also recovered and testing is being done to confirm it was the blade used in Bello’s killing.

Travers showed pictures of Bello’s hands after he died, pointing that there was no indication he had punched or attacked Lowy first.

Lowy’s attorney described him as a “deeply religious” and “peaceful person” with no criminal record, but DePascale denied a request for release on house arrest.

Russo said he will discuss with Lowy the possibilities of appealing the pretrial detention.

 

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)