Documentary-youtube

[KIPPY]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JtTZqX2kLc

Not sure if this has been posted before. Bonnie a rehabber in Az is in it. That little girl is brighter then half the people I know. I did catch myself tearing up a little.

[maryjane]

Wow, quite a video. The little girl is just priceless. There are definitely some sad parts, so viewers beware....videos of pigeons that are dying from poison. Some good ideas on poplulation-control (such as taking eggs from feral populations). Thanks for sharing, Kippy.

[mr squeaks]

Although my system took ages to download the video, I'm glad I waited.

Thanks, Kippy, for posting that very informative video! I always hope that things will begin turning around for the positive!

I still do NOT understand cruelty to animals and especially pigeons!

[Flying_Pidgy]

Wow look at the pigeon at 3:58 . It was a nice looking pied. also 8:55. That was a sad video but its good to see that people are making a difference by showing everyone these kinds of videos.Hopefully peopel understand that poisioning is not the answer. Just because were humans doesnt mean we have to get rid of everything in our way i mean look at all those peopel walking in big towns, they cause more danger to the envirement than pigeons do, so why are we killing pigeons?

[arnieismybaby]

Originally Posted by KIPPY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JtTZqX2kLc

Not sure if this has been posted before. Bonnie a rehabber in Az is in it. That little girl is brighter then half the people I know. I did catch myself tearing up a little.

I have just watched this video. Very moving in places, certainly found myself reaching for a tissue. How I wish that more Governments would take heed of the way the Swiss have handled the control of pigeons. If all the major cities of the world had dedicated areas where the birds could be fed, and where they could roost, such as described in the video, the poor birds would stand a chance.

Michelle

[Vasp]

I was exceptionally teary during this documentary because I felt really bad for the pigeons, and I felt really connected to those trying to help...The man with all the pigeons, the lady handfeeding baby squabs..It's all so true.

Why is the public doing this to our birds? Our feathered friends?

What really bothers me is that we think 20 thousand pigeons is a big deal when there are something like 9 billion people on earth...
Why would we kill off another creature?

[ken_sturrock]

Of course this is part of a larger set of videos called "Share the Blue Sky" by Jim Jenner.

Share the Blue Sky consists of THREE DVDs and is an incredibly detailed documentary of the Pigeon. Yes, it is expensive but it is worth it.

You can find it here:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...275120?ie=UTF8


His other works include "Marathon in the Sky" and "Oldest Feathered Friend" which are also excellent and are available together on a single DVD:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...275120?ie=UTF8

I have thought about buying a couple of copies of the Marathon/Oldest DVD and giving them to local libraries.

-Ken

[littlestar]

I watched the video, but I couldn't watch certain parts of it, it brought tears to my eye's too. That little girl hit it right on the money when she was holding the pigeon and said she liked pigeons because they don't harm do to other people. She just might grow up to be a pigeon rescuer, helping ones in need.
Mary Ann

[Trees Gray]

Hi Kippy,

I appreciate you sharing the video, as hard as it is to watch, people need to SEE the TRUTH about poisoning. It is inhumane, wreckless and cruel..

I talked to an exterminator who refuses to use poison laced corn, as he said the birds suffer alot and fly into windows. He uses more humane methods. It is wreckless also, as any other birds in the area are also poisoned.

The guidelines set by fish and game are usually NOT met by the companies doing exterminating, but no one can prove it as all evidence is picked up and removed after the poisoning.

Some govt. refuse to take the example of humane pigeon control as done by Sweden, because of the initial money that they have to put out to designate areas for pigeons requiring housing & building nest boxes and such. In the long run, removing eggs (replacing with dummies), is not only humane, but it is the BEST pigeon population control method, and IS the cheapest method in the long run.

Thank you for sharing that link, Ken. Those DVD's are well worth the price.

[littlestar]

Hi Everyone,
I figured this is a perfect place to post these articles. This just happened in July and a woman wrote to the NYCPRC group asking for help.
Here is what the woman wrote:
I saw these pigeons suffer and die, this was horrific, I live close by and am in shock that
they did not use non-lethal methods, can you help at all to make sure this does not
happen again? I am in tears.
Julie


SCHENECTADY -- Twenty-eight pigeons that died Thursday outside Ellis Hospital
underscored an ongoing debate about the highly toxic pesticide, Avitrol, used by an
exterminator.
Officials with the state Department of Environmental Conservation are looking into
whether the pesticide was correctly applied by Rentokil Inc., a pest control company hired
by the hospital to control dozens of roosting pigeons that had become a nuisance.

"It's an ongoing investigation, and we can't comment at this point," Kimberly Chupa, a DEC
spokeswoman, said Friday.
Rentokil could be subject to penalties if the Avitrol was not properly applied, but Chupa
could not say what those might be.
The heavy mortality of the poisoned pigeons -- witnesses said they rained from the sky at
one point outside the emergency department -- was higher than expected and
"unfortunate," said Donna Evans, a hospital spokeswoman.
This was the first time Ellis had hired Rentokil.
"We were told this pesticide was commonly used for this purpose and was successful at
other facilities in this area," Evans said. She added that pigeon control has been halted at
the hospital, which is re-evaluating its relationship with Rentokil.
Evans said the pigeons and their droppings, which pose a health threat, had been a
growing problem over the years and there had been complaints about the birds.
Dozens had been roosting atop a roof in the back of the hospital, outside the emergency
department. The Avitrol was placed on the roof only after less lethal methods of
controlling the birds were tried, including loud sounds, plastic owls and nest removal.
Those efforts failed.
Company officials at Rentokil's Albany office said in a written statement that Avitrol was
applied according to manufacturer regulations by an applicator with nine years of
experience who is licensed by the state.
"All recommended precautions were taken," the company said. It vowed to cooperate with
the investigation.
Meanwhile, Audubon New York continues to push for a statewide ban on Avitrol, which is
prohibited in New York City, but is legal in other parts of the state.
"Our concern is that even though Ellis Hospital was targeting pigeons, Avitrol is an
extremely toxic poison," said Sean Mahar, associate director of conservation for Audubon
New York.
"Avitrol can cause the deaths of birds of prey, including bald eagles, peregrine falcons and
red-tailed hawks if they ingest carcasses of poisoned birds," Mahar said. Audubon
advocates alternative methods of discouraging pigeons from roosting, such as metal
spikes.
Three dead pigeons were transported to the DEC wildlife pathology lab Friday, and the
others were incinerated at a local animal shelter, said G. Jack Parisi, director of
environmental health for Schenectady County. He said all of the dead birds were collected
and there was no further concern about public health.
"There was a larger-than-normal amount of casualties," said Parisi, who noted that Avitrol
is widely used to poison pigeons and other birds deemed a nuisance around the Capital
Region.
Normally, a few birds in a flock ingest enough of the poison mixed with corn and bird
seed, make distressed calls, act erratically and die -- frightening off the rest of the flock.
"The issue here is, did they put in too much pesticide?" Parisi said.

lock of concerns after 28 birds die

First published: Saturday, July 29, 2006

More Dead Birds In Schenectady
By 810 WGY News
Tuesday, August 1, 2006
LOOKS LIKE THE PIGEON KILLING AT ELLIS HOSPITAL IS STILL CAUSING PROBLEMS. DEAD BIRDS WERE STILL BEING REPORTED TO SCHENECTADY POLICE...FOUR DAYS AFTER AN EXTERMINATOR LEFT POISON OF THE ROOF OF THE HOSPITAL....DESIGNED TO RID THEM OF THEIR PIGEON PROBLEM. THE GAZETTE SAYS STATE WILDLIFE PATHOLOGIST WARD STONE WAS NOT HAPPY HIS OFFICE WASN'T CONTACTED THAT BIRDS WERE STILL BEING FOUND. AFTER TALKING WITH A REPORTER, HE CALLED POLICE REQUESTING MORE OF THE DEAD BIRDS FOR TESTING. TEST RESULTS FROM THE FIRST BIRDS FOUND ARE EXPECTED TO BE COMPLETED BY THE END OF THE WEEK...THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO INDICATE WHETHER THE EXTERMINATOR USED TOO MUCH POISON OR NOT. POLICE SAY DEAD PIGEONS AND CARDINALS HAVE BEEN FOUND UP TO FIVE BLOCKS FROM THE HOSPITAL.

Exterminator cited for dead birds outside hospital

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. The exterminators that caused pigeons to fall from
the sky outside a Schenectady, New York, hospital last month have been
cited for violations of state environmental law.
The New York Department of Environmental Conservation says the pest
control company used too much poison, allowed to many birds to die and
improperly left the area without removing the dead birds.

Company officials disagree, saying the company followed all proper
procedures.

Fire and police personnel arriving at Ellis Hospital July 27th for an
unrelated incident noticed the dead and dying birds outside the
entrance to the emergency room.

They closed off the E-R for several hours because it was feared one of
the falling birds would hit someone.

I want you to know many of us had emailed letters to the hospital and I will say this much our letters were not nice at all. I know this hospital well and I have never seen a problem with pigeons there, in fact I have never seen pigeons around the hospital and did lots of walking there waiting for someone either having test done or surgery. What really got me is that this hospital knows what poison does and let this company use it. I'm still sick over what was done and I hope with all my heart justice done.
Mary Ann

[Lady Tarheel]

Mary Ann, I noticed that, in addition to the pigeons, cardinals were also being found dead. They are a protected species (and our state bird!). I imagine many other seed eating birds were killed.

Makes me sick. I have not gotten up the nerve to view the video.

Until they start cracking down on these exterminators these things will occur. With the exception of a few they simply could care less. A few summers ago our neighbor called a company to take chimney swifts out of her chimney. Indeed they did - stuck them in the fork of a tree and left them. We wound up raising them but I stood out in the street and told the men I should call wildlife officials about them and that they could be prosecuted. I told them all they had to do was take them to a vet or afterhours clinic. Parent swifts would not feed the babies left like they did because the environment was so different. These men practically laughed at me but I was furious with them and my neighbor.

I just noticed the name of the company Ellis Hospital hired - "Rentokil". Sounds like they're proud of what they do. Arrrrghhhh.

[Trees Gray]

Hi Maggie,

That is what I meant about wrecklessness, any and all kinds of birds in the vicinity will die if they eat the avitrol laced seed. The exterminators are supposed to follow guidelines and pick up all birds and poison after they are done.

The exterminators aren't going to stop because it is legal to use avitrol. The fish and game dept, of each state makes the determination if poisoning is allowed and supposidly has set strict guidelines to follow.

Anyone can hire these exterminators, and the customer has the choice of whether to use humane or lethal/cruel treatments, although they don't use those words. They usually opt out for poisoning because it is the cheapest.
Sad but true.

[littlestar]

Maggie and Treesa,
What gets me is that Avitrol has been band in NYC, but not the rest of the state, which doesn't make sense. If you band it from one place in the state then band in the whole state from using it.

Yes, it did kill different protected birds not just Cardinals. NYS believe it or not also has lots Cardinals there. When I lived there I had tons of them in my yard. There was a petition to stop another poison and we did get it stopped so far. The other problem to is that when these poisons get band these company still have some yet that they turn in.

I can't even count how many fights I got in (not with my hands but with my mouth) with people about pigeons, starlings, and sparrows. It has come close though to grabbing them and pounding the you know what out of them. I did tell the hospital that me and many others who raise and rescue pigeons will not stop until everyone involved is brought up on charges for this crime. I said a lot of not so nice thing, but I wasn't they only one, there was more than just me. This has made me sad and sick. I can't forget the post that this woman wrote asking us for help.
Mary Ann

[Victor]

I held back watching the video, until just tonight. It was very difficult, but I have no regrets. I hope to show it to the older grandkids this weekend.

I am so happy that I have 7 grandkids and 2 nephews that I am able to make a difference by educating them and having them all actually interact with my small flock of 6 pet pigeons. My neighbors and their kids know of them as well.

There is a co-worker scheduling a day this week to bring her children to watch a presentation with my pigeons and they will to have the opportunity to have the children and the mom, handle and feed the pigeons.

The documentary does make a very valid point...educate the people...the children on this very spacial bird of peace.

[mr squeaks]

Most Commendable, Victor!!

Thank You Very Much!

I'm Sure Your 'outreach' Will Have Far Reaching Benefits!!! :d :d