Help needed, trapped birds, unused floor of building

[mortimersparrow]

Hi everyone, this is a bit of a long post but bear with me because it is extremely important and some little lives are on the line here.



It was made known to me a little under a month ago that a building in our town had been borded up with pigeons still inside it.
The building in question is the old market building where i live.
A costa coffee and painting shop sit beneath the areas in question.
Pest control were called in by Costa coffee(not the landlord who was unreachable) to see about culling the pigeons. I am aware that the countryside and wildlife act of 2006 states that all non lethal methods of dettering the birds must be tried before any culling can take place, but the Pest control people of the pest control said that because they are such a big company this rule does not apply to them. Is this true?
theywere called out by Costa coffee because a pigeon, under such panic has smashed out of the window from inside...and it was only because the glass was a threat to public safety that someone was going to do something.


After fifteen calls to the RSPCA and evenspeaking to the rspca officer for the area over the phone i was angry that they said they would show, and here i am nearly a month later and NOTHING. The wildlife sanctuary where i volunteerd called them up as a favour to me and the lady at the rspca "had not heard anything about it"

I then took matters into my own hands with the help of a few friends. After a lot of hassle i got the landlords number who owns the building. I explained that i am animal rescue and told him that i was going in to rescue the remaining birds. Credit where it is due :- He let me have the keys.

The first time i went in there i was hit by the stench of rotting corpses of these birds and their droppings, There was one chick on the floor who had only recently died, one or two days at maximum.

i went up a ladder into the loft space which is attached to a very large tower where they all used to roost, there are bodies on top of bodies- over one hundred, some very fresh..others mumified over years, even ones with racing rings on their feet.

i was heartbroken when i learnt that the pigeon chick that i had seen from the outside- up against the window, was dead it had been trapped onto a level with over twenty other birds...who are all now dead and lie there.

My friend and i have blocked up the smashed window and put corn and water down every day going in and netting what ones we can and putting the others out of the window.

i have taken eight feral chicks to Cuan house wildlife rescue in wenlock, one has died from being so incredibly weak, it is touch and go with the others.

We have got most of the adults out, but since the floor in the loft has collapsed i no longer have access to see how many are in the tower section..although they can fly down to the level i can get to now- with corn and water.

Yesterday i went up and there are two chicks calling, i saw them htey are small but jsut out of reach of my nets.
I will continue going up, hopefully to get those two and others today but i have been informed that any day now pest control coudl turn up and i would no longer be able to have access to the keys.

What i really need is some advice, where does this stand legally and who will care about the evidence and photographs that i have taken?

Also any tips for luring the remaining ones down from the loft and tower, it is pitch black up there adn so so so high, a ladder is out of the question because the floor is nothing thicker than paper, it is so rotten.

I made it clear to the rspca how serious this was but at the slightest mention of the unstable floor they said that they were not prepared to do anything.

I figured if you want something doing you do just have to do it yourself.

thanks guys,

[Feefo]

I am so sorry for you and the pigeons. What a terrible way to die and what a terrible experience for you to have. Thank you for gathering evidence, that must have been hard on you.

The only course is for you to report the matter immediately to the Wildlife police, maybe Cuan House could put in a separate report . We can't stand by and let those that have died die in vain. Ideally, the remaining pigeons will be freed and the pest controllers would have their licence withdrawn for commiting a wildlife crime, which would send out a warning to all ruthless pest controllers.

This is the advice that I got from Natural England on a lethal cull , as far as I can see they have no interest in enforcing the provisions of tha Wildlife and Countryside Act:

Any person acting under the authority of a General Licence must:

· be satisfied that they are eligible to do so (eligibility is licence-specific and in most cases there is a condition preventing use of the licences by persons who are convicted of wildlife crimes after 01 January 2010)

· act within the provisions of the relevant General Licence and therefore the law. This means that it is their responsibility to read the conditions of the licence to ensure that their situation is covered, and to comply with the conditions. Where the General Licence permits control of certain species this includes the requirement that the user must be satisfied that legal (including non-lethal) methods of resolving the problem are ineffective or impracticable.

The police are the appropriate enforcement body in relation to enforcement of General Licences and you are correct to refer alleged offences to them. Should the police decide to prosecute, it would be for a court or judge to decide whether the purpose and justification for taking action fell within the provisions of the General Licence.

I trust this fully addresses your enquiry.

Regards

Deborah Frost

Licensing Specialist

Wildlife Management & Licensing

The wildlife police will give you an incident number, use it for regular follow ups.

If nothing comes of that, perhaps we can rope in other sanctuaries (Wendy Valentine is a good contact), other people to pressurise the wildlife police, perhaps the press.

[amyable]

This is heartbreaking to read and my hat goes off to you for all you've done so far.
As Cynthia said it must be very upsetting to see so many birds lives lost in such a gruesome way. This can't go unreported.

I was lucky with a similar local situation last year but fortunately the birds had only been locked in for two days and it turned out there weren't any where near as many as you had there. When they boarded up the premises the majority of the birds flew out in panic and I was lucky to see the trapped ones were all out and no babies.

Now in that instance I did contact the RSPCA central number and they actually have to record every call so I don't see how they can say they hadn't got a record of this. In fact when I kept calling, the officer I ended up speaking to was able to tell me the exact time of each of my calls.

The info I gleaned from this inspector said that it was illegal for anyone to knowingly board up a premises where there were nesting birds, regardless of the fact they were pigeons. What they had to do was ensure there was an opening for the birds to come and go until all the birds had fledged and then they could secure the building, but only after first making sure there were no access points for the birds to re-enter.
This was done in my case and the hole is still there at the moment and the birds are still roosting inside. I am told I will be contacted when the building is to be demolished so I can go in again beforehand to ensure it's empty.

I would follow the route Cynthia has suggested with the Wildlife Police definitely. Any bad publicity locally would surely not be wanted by the pest control, would that be worth investigating?

Please be careful of your own safety inside the building but I can tell you'll do all you can to try a get any remaining birds to safety and I admire you greatly for that.

Keep us posted,

Janet

[Jaye]

YOU HAVE DONE A TREMENDOUS JOB in a terrible situation...really very brave and strong of you.

I am sure that given the fact there are operating business establishments below the floors of death...there would be serious Health dept. issues here as well.

[Ede-bird]

I am speechless...thank you for your bravery and dedication....

[Feefo]

I haven't read this very thoroughly but the bits that I have read seem sensible and informative, I will have a good study of it when I have a quiet moment:

Pigeon Pest Control and the Law

[PigeonQueen]

Hello thank you for perservering with what must have been a horrific experience. This is happening all the time all over the UK and there are people who take it upon themselves to try to help these poor pigeons when the likes of the RSPCA (who disgust me) and ignore complaints like yoursdo nothing.

Please contact the WILDLIFE CRIME UNIT(SCotland Yard) LOndon UK there number is or was 0207 230 3641. I dont know if they will respond because unfortuantly feral pigeons are not always considered important beings. Please try though and let us know of your response.

You can also phone the local police station to where this incident occured and ask for the local wildlife crime officer. You must report this. Photocopy the pictures so you have a spare copy and the proof. Get a crime number so you know they are taking you seriously.

Please also contact PETA (people for the ethical treatment of animals) and also report this.Their phone number is 0207 357 9229 . say you want to speak to ROBERT COGSWELL or BRUCE FRIEDRICKS on extension x221 or x230. Ask for their email address as they may be abroad but you can still give them the evidence and they can still can act if you know who is responsible for what has happened.

It would be a good idea if you could get yourself a fold up ladder (of about 15 feet) and have someone who would drive you to the places where this is happening. There are people out there who are rescuing pigeons in similar circumstances. Often these pigeons have DELIBERATELY been trapped in by pest control companies etc.I have never heard of anyone being prosecuted for such an offence even though it is blatent cruelty.

Please let us know how you get on. Once again thank you so much for caring about these poor pigeons who must have suffered the worse sort of death undeserving. We can only pray for them.

Jayne

[chrissie]

Hi, Jayne asked me to respond to you because sadly we see this sort of thing a LOT and prosecutations are necessary but difficult to do. can you take any photographs? can you call the police now and ask them to record the details before the evidence is lost. The Fire Brigade have to help live trapped birds and I have a document you can show them from the police to get them involved. RSPCA are rubbish... so the only reason to involve them is for evidence later on. I am trying to prosecute Iceland Store for a similar horrific blatent abuse of the wildlife act and this sounds like it could be a similar high profile case. can you contact me and we can swap e mail addressess/advice etc. Many thanks Chris

[mortimersparrow]

Hello, thankyou for your advice and support everyone. We have got the number of birds in the building down to four now, they are eating and drinking everyday. I am concerned about the birds developing illnesses because of their stressful surroundings.
We have been going up every day for over a month. One i was trying to get out was found dead at the roof of the loft when i went up the ladder the other day, what a horrible place to die in. Especially the chicks who grew to be feathered only to end their days in the same putrid place...

As the birds can no longer roost in the tower or building they sleep outside, on the sides of the building, this is well over fifty birds, and as you imagine they poop. It goes onto the side walk and the public are complaining to the businesses, Costa coffee who are pushing for pest control.

My understanding of the wildlife and countryside act is that they can not cull these birds, they must first try all humane ways of detering them (ie anti pigeon spikes)
...am i right?
I am seeking defra's advice about the whole situation, it is bad enough that these birds are so thin and they are unprepared for the winter in their new (very poor and cold) roosting spots.
I worry about them, the ones on the outside, especially the ones on the inside.

In the last three weeks, i have found several downed pigeons, really thin in the high street and only a couple have been fattened up and released the others went

The landlord went the other day, and despite the holes in the ceiling with scatterings of corpses and what not in, he said it was not as bad as he thought.
..... ? ......

Im going to have to go into the roof space again and see how if i can seal off the tower to stop them flying in there.
PAH!
Wouldnt it be grand, if the world were full of rspca officers who would come and give a shmuck a hand? or a safety harness

[doveone52]

Thanks for the update and all you've done and continue to do. Be careful, please! The world needs more people like you!

[Feefo]

Once again, thank you for your courage.

Although the Wildlife and Countryside Act is supposed to offer some level of protection to all birds I am very disillusioned about the way the Act is enforced, if at all. Inthe one case that I found where the Act had been proved to have been contravened (when rooks in a rookery were shot because a householder considered the rookery was too close to her house), the CPS advised the police to caution the culprits...of course one of the culprits was a magistrate, which could have influenced the CPS.

I believe, however, that if a pest controller contravenes the Act their licence can be suspended so maybe that is the route you could follow. Mind you, when I complained to the Surrey police about the proposed cull at Bury St Edmunds I was told that the cull must be a legal one because Rentokil were carrying it out and they were aware of the law.

Cynthia

[Tassimo]

Please dont tare everyone with the same brush. I work at an animal shelter that is getting slatted and we take in and care for loads of baby pigeons and pigeons that have been injured. We never pts any of them unless very sick. At the moment we are hand rearing 7 babies and caring for lots of disabled pigeons. We believe they have as much right to life as any other animal and i am sorry you have only seen the negitive side. I fight my hardest for the rights of pigeons so am really offended by what i read. We are not all bad and i wish i could put photos of our babies on and our wild resident flock. Sorry to rant but i love our pigeons with a passion and just want people to know that some of us do care for these percecuted birds.

[John_D]

Originally Posted by Tassimo

Please dont tare everyone with the same brush. I work at an animal shelter that is getting slatted and we take in and care for loads of baby pigeons and pigeons that have been injured. We never pts any of them unless very sick. At the moment we are hand rearing 7 babies and caring for lots of disabled pigeons. We believe they have as much right to life as any other animal and i am sorry you have only seen the negitive side. I fight my hardest for the rights of pigeons so am really offended by what i read. We are not all bad and i wish i could put photos of our babies on and our wild resident flock. Sorry to rant but i love our pigeons with a passion and just want people to know that some of us do care for these percecuted birds.

Tassimo - are you posting on the right thread?

I for one do not have a clue what you are talking about here. Please clarify.

No-one has made even the most remote of mention of rehabbers and rescue facilities doing anything to harm pigeons or refuse them help.

This is about trying to prevent pigeons being trapped and dying, and what may be done under the wildlife act and what companies may not do.

What, precisely, is offending you?

John

[Tassimo]

RSPCA are rubbish etc etc........

[amyable]

Tassimo,

I'm sorry if you felt this was directed at all Centres, assuming you work at a caring one that does take pigeons.

Unfortunately we have come across instances around the country where people have called for help and sadly it hasn't been forthcoming, so as people that care so deeply for pigeons, as you obviously do, you can imagine it does tend to make us wary of recommending people to use them, or call them for help.

It's great to know there are exceptions.

Have you now had your new manager? Does that mean you are still able to accept pigeons?

Is Blindie still with you, (I hadn't seen the outcome of that story).

Janet