Mayor Giuliani is often credited with cleaning up the street of New York City. But did that have anything to do with pigeons?
The Humane Society of The United States calls pigeons “both an endearing part of city life and an aggravation.” I guess that’s how I felt the other day when I was pooped on twice in one day by the quintessential city creatures. People laughed and told me that it was good luck. So if it happened twice, I’ll be booking a show any day now.
When I was young my mom and I used to go to the park in Morristown, NJ (read the bio) and feed little pieces of hot dog rolls to the pigeons. I loved it. But it didn’t take me too long to discover that most people found pigeons to be a nuisance. These odd looking birds have been called the rats of the sky. People install ugly wire contraptions and fake owls to keep them off of buildings and angry teenagers poison them and feed them alka seltzer. They never bothered me all that much until I moved to Los Angeles. Sometimes there are so many on the sidewalk flapping around that you feel claustrophobic, surrounded by the germy dust from their feathers. The same is true here in New York. Only here, there are lots of tall buildings where they poop from.
Claustrophobia and excrement aside, I was quite taken the other day by the sight of an old man feeding the pigeons from a bag. He was surrounded by birds and a few were even on his body. I thought it was a sweet thing and was immediately reminded of the bird women from Home Alone 2 or Mary Poppins. I snapped this picture so that I could remember the occasion. But it seems that this sweet old man was up to no good. I discovered a few days later, he was probably trying to capture the pigeons. What? That’s right. Shortly after I left, he probably threw a net on top of them. I was walking down the street when I cam upon this notice:
$2,500 Reward for Information: Be on the Lookout for Illegal Pigeon Capture!
DURING THE LAST TWO WEEKS OF JULY 2008, ILLEGAL PIGEON NETTINGS WILL BE ON THE RISE.
Pennsylvania’s largest live pigeon shoot will be held July 31 through Aug. 3. Contestants vying for money and belt-buckle prizes will shoot and kill or wound thousands of live birds launched from small boxes. Due to the demand to supply the shoot, New York City pigeons may end up as living targets in this cruel competition. You can help the pigeons by watching for illegal nettings in the weeks before the competition. During a typical netting, someone will lay out seeds or crumbs and wait for pigeons to gather, then throw a net or a bag over the birds and quickly put them in a waiting vehicle before fleeing the scene. Don’t confront the person; just jot down or photograph the license plate number of the vehicle and try to get a description and photo of the perpetrator. Then, immediately call Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Conservation Officer Joseph Pane at 718-482-4941.The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has a standing $2,500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone who commits acts of animal cruelty before, during, or after live
pigeon shoots. This includes the illegal netting and trafficking of birds across state lines to supply shoots. If you have information on netters, call The HSUS’s live pigeon shoot tip line at 1-800-637-4124.To learn more about what you can do to stop pigeon shoots and other acts of cruelty to wildlife, visit humanesociety.org/wildlifeabuse.
Background:
* During live pigeon shoots, 70 percent of the birds are shot and wounded rather than killed outright, with some wounded animals escaping into the area to suffer for hours or days before dying.
* During past live pigeon shoots, participants have beaten pigeons against barrels, buried wounded animals with dead ones in containers and abandoned wounded animals.
* The HSUS is actively pursuing litigation and legislation in Pennsylvania to end pigeon shoots.The HSUS works to stop wildlife abuse across the country. Visit humanesociety.org/wildlifeabuse for more information.
I have nothing more to say.
