Pigeon Patrol thought that this was a funny story. Lasers are great but you need to be there every night to disrupt the birds. Contractors NBC Bird and Pest Solutions, which regularly fly hawks to scare the pigeons away from the Holyrood building, have now resorted to using laser pens. But today, pigeon specialists voiced fears that the pens could blind the birds and said they would never recommend them.
The use of laser pens only came to light in documents obtained under Freedom of Information.
In monthly updates on the contractors’ work, parliament bosses were told: “Targeted pen lasers have been used to disturb and disperse pigeons roosting at night. Most visits concentrated on the dawn and dusk periods to disturb and deter roosting activity.”
In addition to the laser pens, the contractors are also using “optical gel” (4-S GEL) – a substance which is spread on surfaces and makes it appear to pigeons that the area is on fire.
A spokesman for animal welfare group PETA added: “Laser pens can damage pigeons’ eyes just like they can humans’.
Pigeon Patrol agrees and thinks that the better deterrents would be bird spikes or pigeon spike, 4-S gel, bird netting or the Ultrasonic repellers.