Stop the pigeons!

Stop the pigeons!

Stop the pigeons! Birds fed birth-control drug at SkyTrain station to reduce population

Pigeons can seem pretty innocuous in the city, but according to TransLink, the birds can cause all kinds of problems along the SkyTrain system. Now, along with the BC SPCA, TransLink is testing a birth control drug on the birds to reduce the population. To start, there’s the issue of poop. CBC News first reported in December that pigeon droppings had dogged the transit authority as it prepared to open a new platform at the Commercial-Broadway station.  TransLink has a poopy pigeon problem on its hands at new Expo Line platform

The problems don’t just revolve around the nasty mess.  According to TransLink, pigeons can interfere with the transportation system, causing SkyTrain delays when they trigger track intrusion alarms, and automatic brakes are activated. TransLink has tried to discourage the birds from roosting in its stations. The spikes installed along perches didn’t do it. Nor did low-voltage strips or netting. According to TransLink, a falconer has been hired to make the rounds at pigeon-plagued stations to scare off the birds.  But according to spokesperson Jill Drews, what’s needed is a long term solution. Along with the BC SPCA, TransLink is testing a feeding system that distributes corn laced with a contraceptive called OvoControl.  Sara Dubois, chief scientific officer with BC SPCA shows the feeding unit placed at the VCC-Clark SkyTrain station. (Michaële Perron-Langlais/CBC) The drug has to be eaten daily to keep the pigeons from laying fertilized eggs, and its effects are reversible.”We’re going to be working with the SPCA here at VCC-Clark for a few weeks and determine the effectiveness and hopefully roll out the feeders at other stations soon,” said Drews.

‘Disruptive and inconvenient’: Granville SkyTrain station escalator shutdown to last 2 years According to Sara Dubois, chief scientific officer with BC SPCA, the drug breaks down in the pigeons’ blood stream and won’t affect any predators that may eat the birds, nor any mammals in the area. “It’s safe; it’s not toxic. It was approved by Health Canada last year. We’ve been waiting for several years for it to come to Canada,” said Dubois.  Pigeons seem harmless, but according to TransLink they’re a big problem. Their droppings make a mess of transit platforms, and they can trigger intrusion alarms, causing trains to automatically brake, leading to delays. (Rafferty Baker/CBC) “The goal’s not to get rid of pigeons, the goal is to manage the pigeon situation to the point where it’s not causing problems for TransLink,” she said. Dubois said the results of the pilot program will be carefully tracked, both in terms of whether the birds are consuming the drugged food, but also the number of track intrusion alarms set off by pigeons.  Drews said that people are partly to blame for the number of pigeons around SkyTrain stations.

“We would like to tell our customers that we would really like it if they stop feeding birds near our stations,” she said. “It isn’t good for the pigeons — they’re best off to find their own natural food — and it isn’t good for our customers, because it caused delays and unsightly health hazard mess in our stations.”  With files from Michaële Perron-Langlais. Follow Rafferty Baker on Twitter: @raffertybaker

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.

Contact us at 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD, (604) 585-9279 or visit our website at www.pigeonpatrol.ca

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An Aerial view The City’s downtown core in Regina,

An Aerial view The City’s downtown core in Regina,

An Aerial view The City’s downtown core in Regina, SK. on Thursday, August 22, 2013. Salthaven West director of rehabilitation, Megan Lawrence, believes some downtown businesses may be putting out poison to deter pigeons. Several Regina pest control companies contacted by the Leader-Post said they do offer Avitrol, but it can only be administered in commercial and industrial areas and isn’t for retail sale. A trained pest control employee must administer it.

Instead of poison, Lawrence recommends removing structures where pigeons could roost and screen off air conditioning units where they might drink water from. Bristling wires, which prevent pigeons from landing, can also be purchased from a pest control retailer and installed.“If they’re up on the roof and you start seeing them build nest, remove all nesting materials,” she said. “The more times that happens they’re going to realize this isn’t a place (they can) nest.”

Saskatoon woman says people may be using neurotoxin to poison local pigeons

A Saskatoon woman who helps restore injured birds to health is calling on the City of Saskatoon to help curb a trend she says concerns her. Jan Shadick runs Living Sky Wildlife Rehabilitation. She says that since Jan. 1, people have called her about 35 dead pigeons.

Rate of ‘kidnapped’ baby hares a concern in Saskatoon Based on the symptoms described, Shadick says she “strongly suspects” most of those birds were poisoned.

“The pigeons are convulsing. They’re having seizures,” she said. “One woman contacted me about a dead pigeon in her yard. I think it was in a flower pot and she was concerned because her dog goes out in the yard.” “It’s an animal. It’s a life. And I don’t think it should suffer,” said Shadick. (Guy Quenneville/CBC) Shadick said she believes a particular neurotoxin used to repel birds is to blame. In a public letter to city councillors, she said Saskatoon Light and Power has used that neurotoxin in the past. Brendan Lemke, the acting director of Saskatoon Light and Power, said, “SL&P does not use poison to kill pigeons in or around its substations. “It has, in the past and consistent with best practices, retained the expertise of pest control experts which have used widely accepted chemical repellents for pigeon control, but SL&P has not used those products or services since 2017.”  Shadick wants the city to ban use of the product by anyone in the city.

“It’s an animal. It’s a life. And I don’t think it should suffer,” Shadick said Thursday as she grasped a dead pigeon wrapped in a plastic baggie.

Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Environment said it has not granted a permit for the use of the neurotoxin and would only do so “in exceptional circumstances.”

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.

Contact us at 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD, (604) 585-9279 or visit our website at www.pigeonpatrol.ca

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Feeding pigeons in Vegas can now net you a $1000 fine and six months behind bars

Feeding pigeons in Vegas can now net you a $1000 fine and six months behind bars

LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — A unanimous vote has officially made it illegal to feed the pigeons in public in the City of Las Vegas.

Ward 1 councilwoman Lois Tarkanian sponsored the bill. She said the city received numerous complaints about pigeon problems, and it came down to a health issue. Their droppings, she says, can be toxic and can even carry diseases.

News 3 spoke with a pest control expert who explained that when people feed pigeons, more pigeons will show up and expect food at that location. they flock there, reproduce, and thus create more waste.

Meanwhile, the expert says, that food source disappears, but the pigeons don’t necessarily leave. As a result, the street feeders have created a problem for the pigeons.

This may sound like a silly crime — but there are similar laws in place in Henderson and in Clark County.

It does bring up the question — how does the city plan on enforcing it?

Well, if you’re caught feeding them on the streets, there is a chance you’d be reported to the city.

Violators of the new pigeon law could face fines up to $1,000 and even up to six months behind bars.

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.

Contact us at 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD, (604) 585-9279 or visit our website at www.pigeonpatrol.ca

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The City of Saskatoon says it has stopped poisoning pigeons

The City of Saskatoon says it has stopped poisoning pigeons

The Standing Policy Committee on Environment, Utilities and Corporate Services on Monday reviewed a report prepared in response to a request by Living Sky Wildlife Rehabilitation.

The centre asked the city to stop using the neurotoxin, saying it’s an inhumane way to control pests.

Around 2,300 pigeons put down, 635,000 kg of feces cleaned from Saskatoon bridge

According to a description on Avitrol’s website, the product works by causing “behaviours similar to an epileptic seizure.”close up of a wild pigeon

“This may include flying erratically, vocalizing, trembling, dilation of the pupils and other symptoms,” the description says.

Witnessing these behaviours can encourage unaffected birds to leave a location.

“Flocks can be frightened away from sites little or no mortality.”

According to the report, Avitrol is no longer used in other cities including Halifax, San Francisco and New York.

The committee heard how in the past the city used Avitrol to remove pests, but currently there are no sites where the city or its contractors are using the poison.

However the city does not have anything in writing that bans private use of Avitrol.

City hall to pursue pest management strategy for Saskatoon

Concern is raised over the city’s use of neurotoxins to control pigeon populations

PHIL TANK, SASKATOON STARPHOENIX

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.

Contact us at 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD, (604) 585-9279 or visit our website at www.pigeonpatrol.ca

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Canadian woman battling crippling disease caused by pigeon poop

Canadian woman battling crippling disease caused by pigeon poop

people covered in bird droppings

Canadian woman battling crippling disease caused by pigeon poop

PETER POWER – THE GLOBE AND MAIL

In the span of a few weeks, Erica Richards has been transformed from a vibrant 23-year-old woman who loved nature to a person battling for her life.

In early January, the Fredericton woman contracted a potentially fatal condition called cryptococcal meningitis, a fungal disease carried in the feces of pigeons.

The debilitating illness attacks the spine and brain, causing severe swelling. It left her confined to a hospital bed in a state of delirium for weeks.

But the most devastating side effect is that Ms. Richards is now blind.

“Be aware of this disease. It could kill a child in a heartbeat,” Ms. Richards said in an interview from her hospital bed.

“It could kill a senior in a heartbeat without you even having to worry about the symptoms. It comes on that fast. If you don’t realize the symptoms, it could kill you, too.”

Her emotional warning comes on the heels of city council’s approval earlier this month of a recommendation that it toughen its animal control bylaw to allow for fines for feeding pigeons. Once the amendment is drafted and declared law, it will give the city’s bylaw enforcement officers the power to ticket and fine offenders.

Ms. Richards said she decided to go public about her illness after learning about a recent newspaper story about a problem with pigeon poop in the city.

“Please don’t feed the pigeons,” she said. “Try to shoo them away if you see them. … It (the disease) is horrible. The pain that you get from this disease is crippling.

“The after-effects are with you for life and you just can’t stop thinking about it. I just want other people to know and try to stay away from pigeons.”

Oddly enough, Ms. Richards said she has no recollection of ever being anywhere near pigeons.

“I am still wondering to this day where I got it,” she said. “I could have stepped in it and brought it into the home. I just don’t know.”

Ms. Richards said the symptoms started with a migraine headache that wouldn’t go away. She was admitted to hospital on Feb. 10 after many days of intense head pain. Shortly after, she went into a coma-like state.

“When I woke up I thought I had a mask over my eyes, but I was wrong. I was blind. I was recently told that I will be blind for the rest of my life. This is a tough thing for a 23-year-old to go through. … My world crumbled around me.”

Ms. Richards said the odds of surviving the disease are 50-50.

“However, I managed to make it through,” she said, battling tears. “I don’t know how but I am still here, and I am glad because I get to warn everyone else of this.”

Cristin Muecke, the Health Department’s regional medical officer, confirmed the disease is often associated with pigeon droppings. She said the illness can’t be spread person to person and is more common with someone who has immune problems.

Ms. Richards, however, said she has never had a problem with her immune system and that’s what’s so puzzling about contracting the affliction.

“I do not want anyone else to suffer this agonizing disease and I ask anyone who is feeding pigeons to stop,” she said. “It’s not just a matter of keeping your neighbourhood clean … it’s a matter of keeping people healthy.”

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.

Contact us at 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD, (604) 585-9279 or visit our website at www.pigeonpatrol.ca

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