Wimbledon under fire for pigeon cull

[kalapati]

http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/news?slu...ters&type=lgns



Wimbledon under fire for pigeon cull


LONDON, June 24 (Reuters) - Wimbledon came under fire from animal activists on Tuesday for using marksmen to shoot down dive-bombing pigeons.

The tournament employs two hawks to scare away pigeons who had become a pest swooping down on Centre Court and distracting players in the middle of tense matches.

But the hawks failed to keep the pigeons away from the players’ lawn and the open-air media restaurant so marksmen were called in.

“The hawks are our first line of deterrent, and by and large they do the job,” Wimbledon spokesman Johnny Perkins said.

“But unfortunately there were one or two areas where the hawks didn’t deter the pigeons, so it was deemed necessary to take a harder approach,” he explained.

The marksmen were summoned by Wimbledon as pigeon droppings on the restaurant tables were thought to be a health hazard.

The decision to call in the marksmen was condemned as “cruel and illegal behaviour” by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) which complained to the tournament organisers and the police.

“Since the use of marksmen to kill pigeons appears to have been carried out as a first, rather than a last resort, and not out of a concern for public health, but rather because the animals were deemed inconvenient by players, you appear to be in clear violation of the law,” PETA vice-president Bruce Friedrich said.

(Reporting by Paul Majendie, Editing by Clare Lovell)







kalapati
San Diego
http://myracingpigeons.mypets.ws:81/jview.htm

[Trees Gray]

Where ther are humans gathering, there is usually food.

No doubt the birds were hanging out at the restaurant to pick up scraps and crumbs that humans left for them, they just saw that as a welcoming invitation..what kind of mixed signals are these stupid humans sending those birds? That is a sorry way for them to accept their responsibilty for beeing litter bugs.

[GimpieLover]

With tables getting covered in pigeon poop...obviously the tables are outside...And with things outside how can you get mad that they are getting pooped on! They expect pigeons to know to stay away from free food scrapes outside! uhh *sigh* I just don't understand people. They cause the problem and then remove it in the worst way possible because they just don't want to take the time to find another solution. ...and taking lives of innocent birds because they got in the way of a tennis game...Lord help this world.

[Noisy_minor]

What the! havnt they done studies which prove shooting, poisoning, relocating, and any other means of removing pigeons dosnt work, and just makes more room for the young birds to move in. When do they shoot em, if you were shooting birds when there is no one on the feild thats a bit unfair to the pigeons, and they could hardly be called "dive bombing pigeons" the only time they could effectivly get rid of these so called "dive bombing pigeons" would be when the game is on, and i think dead pigeons falling down every where would be more distracting than live ones flying around. and pigeon poo on tables, thats why there are people that are ment to go and clean the tables after people have been sitting at them, its not the poo thats the problem, its that people can see that no one is cleaning the tables.

I dont even own any pigeons YET and i can see that what they are doind is not going to work. this world is a sad place for those that cannot speak.

[Georgina]

That's awful!! I agree that it obviously shows the people at wimbledon are littering and dirty, otherwise what need would the pigeons have for being there?? I used to work in a cafe in a garden centre and there were forever sparrows and small birds flying in and out picking up the crumbs. And yes, they did poo on the tables but the customers never complained. They just asked politely for someone to give the table a wipe if we hadn't already done it. No one would have even considered killing the birds and I'm sure the customers would of been horrified if we did. Still, people seem to have much different opinions of "vermin" pigeons to "pretty" sparrows. Maybe they should shoot the litterers?? lol.

[TheSnipes]

They make me sick, this "health hazard" BS is such CR@P. I'm sick of people invoking the 'health hazard' excuse every time they decide to condemn innocent creatures to death strictly for their convenience. I would really like it they were charged with a crime.

Wimbledon came under fire from animal activists on Tuesday for using marksmen to shoot down dive-bombing pigeons.

The tournament employs two hawks to scare away pigeons who had become a pest swooping down on Centre Court and distracting players in the middle of tense matches.

Excuse me...hello...but the gunshots don't?

[TheSnipes]

Originally Posted by Georgina

Maybe they should shoot the litterers??

[Dezirrae]

Originally Posted by Trees Gray

No doubt the birds were hanging out at the restaurant to pick up scraps and crumbs that humans left for them, they just saw that as a welcoming invitation..what kind of mixed signals are these stupid humans sending those birds? That is a sorry way for them to accept their responsibilty for beeing litter bugs.

Exactly! If as much time was spent cleaning up on a regular basis as they spend discussing the various corporate sponsored outfits the pigeons wouldn't have any scraps to pick up Stupid people.

[chriss80]

I found a small article about it in the newspaper the Independent, picture bellow

[amyable]

That is horrifying, I can't believe that everyone attending Wimbledon is against pigeons. Surely there should have been an outcry from people having to witness this shooting.

Wimbledon has been going for how many years, and I'm sure pigeons haven't only just appeared. So is this the first time pigeons have been a 'nuisance'. I've never heard if this before.

Since when have pigeons attacked people, as far as I see they would only come down if there was food enticing them, so have these players been eating on court? Otherwise, according to this report, how come it is the players who are being targeted by the pigeons.

[chriss80]

A new BBC article I have found today

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7474567.stm

Is it legal to shoot pigeons?
WHO, WHAT, WHY?
The Magazine answers...

Animal welfare activists have complained to Wimbledon organisers and the police over the culling of pigeons. Is it against the law for marksmen to take out the feral birds?
Pigeons get a rough ride. Vilified as "rats with wings," rock doves - as they are properly known - are the bird the British love to hate.
Common complaints range from well-aimed droppings to dive-bombing. After some tennis players complained of the latter, the All England Club called in marksmen with rifles to disperse the birds ahead of the Wimbledon tournament.

THE ANSWER
Even feral pigeons are protected
But pest control is legal once non-lethal methods exhausted
Experts advise more humane methods of population control
Now People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) has gone to the police, claiming infringement of the Animal Welfare Act 2006. Vice-president Bruce Friedrich says shooting pigeons is not just cruel, but illegal.
Although the act protects the pigeon as it is "of a kind which is commonly domesticated in the British Islands", legitimate pest control is not regarded as causing unnecessary suffering, says a spokeswoman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).
And the Metropolitan Police plans to take no further action.
The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 states that it is an offence to kill any bird - including pigeons - unless a licence is held, but section one allows exemption if an organisation or individual complies with general licence regulations.

WHO, WHAT, WHY?
A regular feature in the BBC News Magazine - aiming to answer some of the questions behind the headlines
"This would require a specific public health risk to be identified and other non-lethal methods to be used to disperse the birds before taking the decision to shoot them," a Met Police spokeswoman says.
The All England Club says it shot the birds as a last resort, and the birds posed a health and safety risk to players.
Humane control
Non-lethal methods recommended by the Pigeon Control Advisory Service, an independent bird control consultancy, involve population control.

Hawks are used by the All England Club and in Trafalgar Square
Methods include pigeon lofts - large nesting boxes from which eggs can be removed - or egg oiling, which deprives fertilised eggs of oxygen and prevents baby birds developing and hatching.
Once such methods have been exhausted, killing the birds is allowed under the general licence exemption or individuals can apply to Natural England for a licence.
Prosecutions under the wildlife act are rare, and the punishment tends to be a fine.
The Clash's Paul Simonon and Topper Headon were prosecuted for shooting pigeons with an air rifle in 1978, but the pair were done for criminal damage as the dead birds were privately owned racing pigeons.
So feral pigeons can legally be shot. But here's the rub - the dip in numbers is only temporary.

PIGEON FACTS

About 18 million feral pigeons in the UK
Breed up to six times a year
Pair for life, and both parents care for young
Longest recorded flight took 55 days and covered 7,000 miles
Picas director Emma Haskall says that killing adult pigeons favours younger birds in the feeding flock that would otherwise have a poorer chance of survival, so numbers are back to pre-cull figures within six to eight weeks.
She adds that pest control contractors recommend shooting because it is highly profitable: "They want rolling contracts."
Nor does she rate other lethal measures such as poison bait, cage-traps and using birds of prey such as hawks - a method favoured by Wimbledon organisers and the former London mayor Ken Livingstone, who faced off against angry activists in the Trafalgar Square pigeon crackdown of 2003.
But the "flying rats" remain a fixture, a draw for pigeon fanciers and tourists keen to indulge their Mary Poppins fantasies.
________________________________________
Add your comments on this story, using the form below.
I think it is a brutal act. Sadly the UK is changing from animal lovers to barbarians. It is happening with chickens, cows, and now pigeons. If you don't have respect for life, don't complain later that new generations are more violent.
Mary, Ascot
Can we include herring gulls in the birds we love to hate? I personally consider them to be more of a public nuisance than pigeons. "Chav Birds" I call them - they serve no purpose than just to annoy and scrounge whatever they can get.
Michael, Folkestone
People in the countryside have been shooting crows pigeons and rabbits for years as a method of pest control. It's so silly that Peta are protesting about this. I suppose everyone should stop using mouse traps too and let them run wild?
Margaret, Edinburgh
I absolutely loathe pigeons with a passion. I have them nesting in the roof space of my flat and the noise they make is horrendous and they are constantly fight at all hours of the day. I won't even begin to go into depth about the mess they make.
Broon, Lancaster
A far more effective method of population control would be to remove their sources of food. Hire a dozen extra people to collect Wimbledon litter and ensure that people don't feed them. Pigeons will only breed when there is enough food to sustain them and their young.
Dan White, Bristol
All the things happening in the world at the moment, and the best thing Peta can find to pointlessly agitate about is the shooting of unwelcome verminous pigeons. Ridiculous.
Nick, Leeds
It's probably only a question of time before the bird flu virus arrives in Europe. In which case the overpopulation of pigeons will be dealt with by nature - and pigeons will then be a definite health hazard.
Barry Hunt, Paris, France
Of course it's illegal - everything is or soon will be.
Ed, Newbury
Did they try getting a few cats, and maybe a terrier or two? The sparrow/pigeon hawk idea is a good one, but they don't tend to hunt or eat many birds over the course of a week. But cats and dogs can be quite greedy - and their presence alone could be a good deterrent.
Mark P, Birmingham
These birds not only mess over everything but trying to feed other birds is hard as the pigeons steal their food. I have a little bird bath and feeder for the small birds but the pigeons have bent the feeder because they are so fat and heavy. I think they should be culled as they are getting as bad as the seagull.
Lyn, Chelmsford
What right do they have to go around shooting anything just because it gets in the way of tennis players - even if they are pigeons.
Emma , United Kingdom
I live in a central London square, where pigeons are such a nuisance that they damage the building facades, deface benches and leave bare patches in the grass in our communal garden. A small population is just about tolerable, but it takes just one persistent pigeon-feeder to swell the population and make crossing the square like an incident out of Daphne DuMaurier's The Birds.
Teddy T, London

[GimpieLover]

http://current.com/items/89049672_pi...bledon?xid=216

What are they shooting them with? Pin darts!

[Charis]

Sorry London members ... I'm glad I don't live there. Those remarks after the bbc news article are just hateful.

[cyro51]

Sorry London members ... I'm glad I don't live there. Those remarks after the bbc news article are just hateful.

No need to apologise. The hateful remarks came from all over England. I feel sick after reading them. All that hatred and ignorance! I completely agree with Mary of Ascot's comments.

Cynthia

[Noisy_minor]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aH53ofk5ESk

does any one know where i can get a costume like this one. i would love to go and chase all the little kids that chase pigeons i can just imagine the fun i could have before getting arrested

would so be worth it