Intervention from Pigeon massacre.

[Enrico]

Hey there people, I'm new to the forums here and I just wanted to get some feedback on an issue I am having.

I'm a fan of pigeons, always have been since I was little. I used to always go out and look for injured birds and try to nurse them back to health. Since in my neighborhood their were a lot of injured birds.

Anyways, basically the issue here is, theres a kid in my neighborhood. I think he's about 19 years old, whom sometimes during the days I can see him walking around with a pellet gun shooting the pigeons. I checked the local statutes (I live in Tempe, Arizona btw) and there doesn't seem to be any law regulating the shooting of birds, or shooting off a pellet gun within the city limits. (Although I could be mistaken, if anyone knows please fill me in.) The only thing I could find was grounds for a possible noise ordinance complaint. But the kid never is out at night.

Anyways, he tends to shoot a lot of them off the power lines in the alleys and rooftops of our neighbors. I was thinking, the least I could do was try to lure as many as I can into my backyard for feeding during the day so they could be safe. (Because if he shoots at them, into MY backyard, we're going to have a problem.) Anyways, I was just wondering what tasty treats the piggy's might enjoy, also I was wondering possible if it would be a good idea to maybe trap a few in the area he has been shooting them in, and introduce them to a little pigeon house that I am planning to start building here. Of course, i'd let them go everyday, but try to maybe let them think about making a new home in the sanctuary of my property.

Thanks for any suggestions in advance!

[Matt D.]

Wow, this is really bad. 19 and spends his days shooting inoscent animals, pretty pathetic. Pigeons love safflower and peanuts. The also love to take baths. I think it would be a great Idea for you to catch them and keep them in a loft. You may want to look around on the resource or the loft forum here for ideas, and look and get some good info. I hope you can save the pigeons and maybe save all of the pigeon poop for a while in your loft and bag it until you get enough to put a few bags of it in the front yard. :P kinda as payback, yeah and maybe build a nice catapult, well you get the idea.

[Enrico]

Yeah, tell me about it. It's not everday he's out, and the few times I've yelled at him he's flipped me off and ran away pretty quickly. Otherwise i'd give him a piece of my mind. Anyways...lol

Never heard of safflower, but i'll check it out when I get the chance. Right now i'll just scatter some old bread and any other grain products I can find in the house that we don't use anymore. Try to get a temporary solution until I can build them a nice house.

[Matt D.]

Great. I hope you dont lose another bird to this lunatic. I'm going to bed. Thanks again for helping this little guys.

[Enrico]

And thank you for the tips, I have an old bag of peanuts here at home. Do they like them in the shell? Or should i take them out, also. I'm going to pop some of these old bags of popcorn I have, throw at about too.

[Matt D.]

No, don't give them poped popcorn, and the peanuts need to be raw and preferable un-salted. So i am guessing what you have around the house wont work. They need to be shelled.

[Margarret]

Take some pictures of this guy when you see him out with his pellet gun. Especially if you can get some pictures of him aiming at something. There is probably some kind of local ordinance pertaining to cruelty to animals in your city. I'd call the local animal control people and ask them.

Margaret

[Enrico]

Originally Posted by Matt D.

No, don't give them poped popcorn, and the peanuts need to be raw and preferable un-salted. So i am guessing what you have around the house wont work. They need to be shelled.

Ahhh, okay then. Are they allergic to it or something? The only other thing I have around here is regular wheat bread, and some old grass seed. I placed that outside so hopefully that will work. I can try rinsing the shells off in water maybe? Since they're shelled and salted, maybe I can rinse the salt off?

As for local ordinances, I'm not aware of any. I'll send an email out.

[Feefo]

Hi Enrico,

I will ask Cindy to have a look at this thread, she lives in Mesa. You might also want to contact Dave Roth of the Urban Wildlife Society, he is in Phoenix

www.urbanwildlifesociety.org

Cynthia

[Trees Gray]

Originally Posted by Enrico

Ahhh, okay then.* Are they allergic to it or something? The only other thing I have around here is regular wheat bread, and some old grass seed. I placed that outside so hopefully that will work. I can try rinsing the shells off in water maybe? Since they're shelled and salted, maybe I can rinse the salt off? .

Thank you for your concerns over the pigeons. I hope you can lure them to your yard. Sounds like this person has some real issues that need to be addressed-immediately. This can only escelate if it continues, who knows what he will be aiming at next! Definitely start with calling your local animal control, and I'm sure what he is doing is illegal within city limits.

* It has nothing to do with allergies, but whole corn is a good source of nutrients for them, cracked is also not good. Do not give the birds grass seed that is used for growing lawns as it is usually treated with chemicals that are toxic to birds. Can you purchase some wild bird seed?

[TheSnipes]

Originally Posted by Enrico

Ahhh, okay then. Are they allergic to it or something? The only other thing I have around here is regular wheat bread, and some old grass seed. I placed that outside so hopefully that will work. I can try rinsing the shells off in water maybe? Since they're shelled and salted, maybe I can rinse the salt off?

Enrico,
Pigeons LOVE un-popped popcorn! Feed it to them that way Thanks for caring and trying to help the helpless pidgies

[philodice]

There is a law. It falls under cruelty or torture. The law in Arizona states that this statute applies to ANY animal. Arizona considers animal cruelty to cover even our beloved pests. Sure if you are on private property and want to ride yourself of a few pest birds you are allowed to use approved traps and poisons, but in a populated area NO form of fire arm is permitted to be fired. You tell the cops that this is going on, shooting a pellet gun in city limits is also forbidden. He could get arrested easy. Lots of kids get arrested for this kind of thing in Arizona. It's the Sherriff Joe Law. You can't even torture your own pet mouse in this state. And if the gun looks 'to real' he could get killed in the process.

It's a dirty business all around, and I'm glad the statute is so inclusive as to apply and help these pigeons. If you need help rehabing, I need help building a new pred-proof aviary. Maybe we could help eachother.

[philodice]

Call 911 and say a person is brandishing a weapon and firing at power lines. That will get a response right away.

[AZWhitefeather]

Welcome to Pigeon Talk, Enrico.
I'm so sorry to hear about what's going on around you. Sadly, it happens much too often.
What's even more sad is, in many areas, the 'officials' just turn their heads the other way. Especially if 'pigeons' are involved.
It is true, Sherriff Joe doesn't take kindly to any type animal abuse.

I'm in the area of Dobson & Baseline (Dobson Ranch). We also have Kim, who resides in Tempe.

If you'd like to email me, AZWhitefeather@aol.com (title the email as Bird Shootings), or send me a private message, with a more definite location of where this is taking place, that would be great. Since it's in or near your neighborhood, I wouldn't recommend posting the information publicly. It's up to you though.

When you say 'local' statutes, are you referring to city or the Arizona Revised Statutes?

I would definitely try to get a picture of this 'Jr' low life in the act.
Just don't do anything that would put you in a 'Harm's way' situation.

Please do keep us posted.
I look forward to hearing from you & helping in any way that I can.

Cindy

[naturegirl]

Can you possibly get pictures or a video of him and turn it into the police or humane socieity there? If you can you could bring up the concern,
"If he can hurt and kill an inocent bird then he can hurt and kill a human" If he flips you off again call the cops I know there is something out there they can do about that. I think it is obscene jesture or something along those lines. You could go after cruelty to animals, discharge of a fire arm in a residential area. The list could go on. You could even go for a public arrest if warranted.

Cindy