by Pigeon Patrol | Feb 27, 2016 | Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, UltraSonic Bird Control
A 70-year-old East Devon woman has been slapped with an ASBO banning her from feeding seagulls and all other birds in her home town.
Rose Rodell had been in the habit of feeding a variety of birds at her local park and cemetery, among them gulls, pigeons and doves.
But the local council gained an order to stop her after complaints from some residents in Sidmouth..
She has even been threatened with eviction from her council home if she continues – but has launched a legal bid to get the order overturned in court.
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.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by Pigeon Patrol | Feb 26, 2016 | Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Spikes
WHITBY — Columnist Margaret Carney. July 18, 2012
It’s estimated there are 50,000 feral and unowned cats across Northwest Arkansas, according to the Northwest Arkansas Community Cat Project. They say that number is growing rapidly, so they’re joining forces with other local organizations to control the wild animals.
Mary Bartholomew says several feral cats have lived on her property in Prairie Grove for years.
“I regularly feed them,” Mary Bartholomew said. “They were really just starting to produce at multiple rates and it was getting to be way too many .”
She hopes she found a solution. The Northwest Arkansas Community Cat Project teamed up with the Friends of Prairie Grove Pound on Monday.
“It was literally a trap, neuter and return, so we have managed colonies and we don’t keep having the overabundance of litters every season,” Lesa Bement, Founder, Friends of Prairie Grove Pound said.
The organizations spayed and neutered almost 50 cats through a mobile vet clinic at the Prairie Grove Fire Department.
“So that’s 120, maybe 200 kittens that won’t be born this year, just this year. Not to say the kittens that those kittens would have next year,” Marcia Donley with the NWA Community Cat Project said.
Donley says feral cats are unsocialized, and most likely can never be tamed into a house pet.
“A truly feral cat, I liken it to a raccoon or a squirrel,” Donley explained.
Feral cats can serve a purpose. Often times living in barns and killing off unwanted field mice populations.
“When we first moved here we had a mouse problem in the house. They would come into the house somehow, and once the cats came around we have not had problems with snakes in the area or mice,” Bartholomew said.
For people like Mary, fixing feral cats means preventing overpopulation and euthanasia.
“I just think for the good of society and the good of the cat,” Bartholomew said.
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.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by Pigeon Patrol | Feb 25, 2016 | Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Patrol's Services
A crackdown on cats suggested by some Dunedin city councillors could be scratched due to legal concerns.
The prospect was raised at yesterday’s planning and environment committee as councillors debated two new draft bylaws designed to update rules for controlling dogs and other animals in Dunedin.
The two documents – one covering dog control, and the second other animals and birds – were to be released for public consultation once endorsed by councillors.
Complainants as vexatious as dogs?
But Cr Kate Wilson took exception to their contents yesterday, questioning why the documents sent a ”really clear message” about controlling dogs while overlooking cats.
Cats were the only animals allowed to roam beyond their owner’s property boundary, without rules set by council for controlling them, she said.
That was despite views previously expressed by groups like Save the Otago Peninsula (Stop) about the need to control domestic cats, perhaps even by neutering them, she said.
”I believe there’s a willingness in public to test that, or at least have that discussion,” she said.
She questioned why draft rules covered protecting wildlife from dogs, but not cats.
Council animal control team leader Ros MacGill told yesterday’s meeting she would need legal advice on any move to apply such rules to cats in future.
But despite that, consultation material to be released to the public included three options to manage cat problems.
The options ranged from no change to introducing new restrictions, including a requirement that cats be neutered, kept indoors at night or even banned in some areas.
However, council staff proposed only to limit cat numbers in cases where there were problems and voluntary action failed.
Cr MacTavish said two of the options appeared ”fairly limited”, while the third was ”fairly restrictive”.
She wondered if the council had considered registering and microchipping cats, as was already required for non-working dogs, instead.
Ms MacGill said she would also have to seek legal advice on that idea, as it was her understanding such rules had to be set nationally.
Council staff indicated legal advice could be considered during the consultation process, but Cr Wilson said she would not vote to begin that process until legal issues were considered.
Mayor Dave Cull also worried about releasing documents without first understanding their legal implications.
”It may be delayed . . . but one of the lessons we have had in other areas is, get it right the first time,” he said.
Councillors voted to leave action on the draft bylaws until legal advice was considered.
The draft bylaws also sought to update a host of other rules, including relaxing one to allow dogs on leads to be walked at the St Clair Esplanade, Ms MacGill said.
The rules would also address other key issues, including ongoing problems with dog fouling on sports fields and dog attacks on wildlife, plus improving access to dog-exercising areas, she said.
The proposals were not yet set in stone, and public consultation would guide the final shape of the bylaws, she said.
”It’s not a decision we have made. We want to make that very clear.”
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.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by Pigeon Patrol | Feb 24, 2016 | Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Spikes
PIGEONS IN ST JAMES PARK TODAY
. REXMAILPIX.
It’s time to take a leaf out of Spain’s book, as complex lung ailments are being reported by city pulmonologists, thanks to a rise in pigeon population
A bird census carried out three years ago by citybased NGO Ecological Society had pegged the number of Rock Pigeons at 13,271 all over Pune. The population has increased since, with its impact felt on the health of citizens over this period of time. Today, pulmonologists in Pune are known to attend to three to four patients each week with lung ailments caused by pigeon droppings — a rarity just three years ago.
Forty-one-year-old Mohan Sonkamble (name changed to protect identity), who used to run a laundry, had to give up his favourite hobby of feeding pigeons. It’s tending to the same flock that has had him bed-ridden with acute and subacute hypersensitivity pneumonitis. He is presently on ventilator. “He has loved pigeons since he was a child and now the feathers and droppings have wreaked havoc on his system. His lungs stopped functioning, given the deposits of dust from droppings. It has also affected his heart.
We have no option but go for a lung transplant, which is not only beyond our means but also comes with no guarantee of success,” said his brother.
The cases of ailments are not localised in overpopulated and congested parts of the city. Given the corresponding rise in construction activity in and around the city — where the birds fly in to roost — the ailments have become widespread. As Dr Mahavir Modi, pulmonologist, Ruby Hall Clinic, said, “Illnesses driven by residue of pigeon droppings and feathers are affecting those living in posh areas as well. Most of them develop cough, which cannot be easily traced as the symptoms are that of an asthma patient.” Like Sonkamble, most patients are hit by acute and subacute hypersensitivity pneumonitis, where the patients’ lungs inflame from the inside, with early symptoms resembling pneumonia. “The patients do not respond to antibiotics and steroids have to be administered to them. The condition can get very serious with some even needing ICU care with a need for oxygen,” added Dr Modi.
In yet another case, the wife of a senior government employee residing in Erandwane has been a victim, too. She has been suffering from dry cough for six months and, at times, her face would blacken due to lack of oxygen supply. “She used to be treated for respiratory tract infection, but there was no let-up in her condition. After she tested negative for tuberculosis, we finally got a CT scan and blood test done, which revealed the ailment,” said her husband. He added that pigeon menace in their neighbourhood stops them from even opening windows and balcony doors. “There is a shop nearby and the owner puts out food for the pigeons over there. This has led to a spurt in pigeon population here,” he added.
Such patients, with repeated exposure to the birds, are also likely to become victims of lung fibrosis, which can be devastating with no cure available. “Besides these, they are also carriers for many deadly fungi and atypical bacteria, which can cause diseases like cryptococcosis and histoplasmosis (fungal lung infections) and psitacosis (bacterial lung infection) — all of them rare and hard to diagnose,” said Modi.
Dr Nitin Abhyankar, a pulmonologist from Poona Hospital, said pigeons lead to 60 per cent cases of hypersensitivity pneumonitis among patients living in urban areas. “It is almost as if flying rodents are affecting people. While those with acute hypersensitivity can be treated with high dosages, it is extremely difficult to treat the patients who reach the chronic allergy stage,” said Abhyankar. Dr Sundeep Salvi, director of the Kalyani Nagar-based Chest Research Foundation, explained that the hypersensitivity pneumonitis or bhronchiolitis obliterans are known to block the small windpipe and sometimes affect the alveoli in the lungs. “The constant dry cough is known to last nearly four to six weeks. The diagnosis is difficult and a CT scan becomes imperative,” he said.
A Spanish town, Badia del Valles, near Barcelona, plagued by pigeons, has started mixing contraceptives in the bird feed to curb population, as some birds are known to have as many as 48 chicks a year. While there is yet to be an initiative of that scale here, Swati Gole, founder of Ecological Society, votes for a second census. “We want another survey to mark the change in the pigeon population. Since the pigeons are known to nest in buildings, with the rising settlements around us, their numbers are bound to have increased. Moreover, birds also thrive when they are fed with grain, which is common among Indians,” said Gole.
The constant dry cough is known to last nearly four to six weeks. The diagnosis is difficult and a CT scan becomes imperative
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.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by Pigeon Patrol | Feb 23, 2016 | Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Patrol's Services
(October 6, 2015 – Toronto, ON) Ingrid Veninger is one of our favourite filmmakers. Publisher Ralph Lucas first met her for the Toronto screening of The Limb Salesman at the Canadian Film Festival in 2004. Since then Northernstars has interviewed her twice, most recently in 2013 when the film she wrote, produced and directed, The Animal Project, opened in general distribution. It is strange to use the word general, which makes things sound sort of normal, when reporting on such a talented and unique filmmaker.
In a small group that includes Winnipeg’s Guy Madden, Veninger doesn’t so much make movies as she constructs them, builds them from initial idea to a finished project that has been crafted with abundant care, remarkable problem solving abilities and a swift spirit that adapts undaunted to the challenges involved in getting a film made. And when it is done, she finds a way to make it even better.
Such is the case for He Hated Pigeons. It’s her 5th feature film and it will enjoy a very special one-time only showing at Toronto’s Bloor Hot Docs Cinema on October 18 at 3 in the afternoon. He Hated Pigeons is a deliberately low-budget film, this time a remarkably well-measured tale of love and loss. It stars Pedro Fontaine (pictured) who met the director when he served as a translator when Veninger was attending a film festival in Santiago, Chile in 2014. When the job was done, Fontaine mentioned that more than a translator he was also an actor and it would be nice to work together. Sometime later Ingrid Veninger contacted Fontaine to say that she wanted to write a role just for him.
As Veninger tells it, “This project has been the most intense. Not because I booked the crew’s flights to Chile before there was a script, or because I planned to primarily shoot in a language (Spanish) that I don’t speak and in a foreign country, or because I wrote the lead role for an actor whose work I has never seen… but because every step of the process had to allow for the added uncertainty of a live-score.”
That’s right. The movie has been made without a music track. As we have written here before, while the words in a movie may tell you what to think, it’s the music that tells you what to feel. Veninger continues: “The idea different musicians, in each city, improvising their own music was a commitment that influenced and informed every choice in making this film from writing and shooting, through editing and sound design. There was no way the live-score could be a gimmick, it needed to be intrinsically woven into the fabric of the film so that it became essential.”
The key word in here in case you missed it is “improvising.” There is no written score for the live musicians to follow. This isn’t a rehearsal piece. I any other filmmaker’s hands this might be ascribed as throwing caution to the wind. But for Ingrid Veninger this is just part of the process of making her highly individual films.
“He Hated Pigeons deals with letting go. Life is uncertain. Filmmaking is uncertain. And, I want the audience to feel something which has its own intrinsic impermanence. So every public presentation will be a one-time-only event.”
For the October 18 screening in Toronto the improvisation will be provided by Ohad Benchetrit and Justin Small. The Bloor Hot Docs Cinema is located at 506 Bloor Street West and the rice of admission is “pay what you can.” Which is quite a bargain when you’ll be experiencing something that is, quite possibly, priceless.
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.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
