by johnnymarin | Nov 11, 2018 | Pigeon Patrol's Services
On Saturday, a flock of pigeons gathered inside of the Community Park Center, not just because it was the “coo” thing to do, but because it was part of the Jacksonville Area Pigeon Club’s 45th Annual All-Breed Pigeon Show.
For the uninitiated, a pigeon show is quite the sight. Rows and rows of cages contain beautiful pigeons of all shapes, colors, breeds, all being observed by judges and participants who, for one reason or another, fell in love with these feathered fellows.
“I was into it when I was a little kid, younger than (Cooper) is, and my mom had some birds and I just took a liking to them and then my kids followed in my footsteps,” Aaron Lorton said. “They’re really interesting. They have a lot of different genetic color patterns. They can come out all different colors so it’s a surprise when you get babies out of them. It’s a fun and unique hobby that not a lot of people do.”
The Jacksonville Area Pigeon Club, or JAPC, was founded in 1973 to foster greater interest in the hobby of pigeon breeding and care. Its goal, explained Sarah Brown with the JAPC, is to get more people into the hobby, especially younger kids that might be interested in 4-H activities.
This show, in particular, featured 27 different breeds of birds with over 200 entries into the competition. Not only was there the competition, but there were raffles, auctions, and meals to add to the excitement of a room packed with pigeons.
“I came on as secretary and found out that there were more people into pigeons than I thought,” Brown said. “They just didn’t know we were having the show so we’re kind of branching out.”
The show attracted people from all around the area with interest in pigeons. David Averbeck, a judge at the show that came all the way from St. Louis, said he has gone all the way to California for pigeon shows. There’s quite the interest, he said, but what the hobby needs more than anything is more young people getting interested in what is certainly a unique and interesting hobby.
“It’d be good to see younger people get into the hobby,” Averbeck said. “It’s a hobby that a lot of older people are in but it’d be great to see younger people get involved. Come to junior shows like this. Go to 4-H clubs, have the older people give a presentation out to 4-H clubs. Get the word out there.”
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 johnnymarin | Nov 10, 2018 | Pigeons in the News
A petition has called on Ipswich’s MP and the Prime Minister to intervene on plans for a pigeon cull on the town’s Waterfront.
The petition was launched after Associated British Ports (ABP) informed nearby residents of a controlled killing planned for Sunday, November 18, between 10am and 1pm.
ABP said the move was intended to prevent the pigeon population from endangering the UK’s food supply chain.
But a petition for MP Sandy Martin and PM Theresa May to step in looks set to reach 2,500 signatures just days after being launched by Brandon Orton at change.org.
The petition states: “The reason for killing pigeons is due to ‘public safety reasons’, so that it does not endanger the UK’s food supply chain.
“However, there have been many local residents and members of the public who have stated that they have never had problems with birds and have not seen many on the waterfront.”
ABP assured residents the culling would be completed quickly and humanely by trained professionals.
A spokesman said: “ABP is part of the UK’s food supply chain, and as such, we adhere to strict regulations regarding the control of pests at the Port of Ipswich.
“Measures are in place to prevent the spread of disease, stop serious damage to food and preserve public health and safety.
“We are committed to safeguarding the integrity of the UK’s food supply.”
The cull will be carried out by shooting – the quickest and most humane method, said ABP – and by trained professionals under licenses issued by appropriate government agencies.
According to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), land owners and people given permission by authorities or the Environment Agency are granted a general licence to cull certain wild birds.
The licence can only be used to preserve public health or to ensure public safety – not to simply cull birds that considered to be a nuisance.
ABP bosses said they had explored other avenues for managing the pigeon population.
A spokesman added: “We have examined all the possibilities in managing the pigeon population and we are now fulfilling our legal obligations in the most effective and humane way possible. These actions are necessary to protect the UK public.”
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 johnnymarin | Nov 9, 2018 | Pigeon Patrol's Services
The noisy Diwali celebration not only affected residents but also animals and birds. Many animals were found injured and scared. Some were seen running helter skelter due to the loud cracker noises. As many as eight animals, including strays and pigeons, suffered injuries or were found in a state of shock due to the noise of crackers during four-day festival, said city-based NGOs. Recommended By Colombia While Pet Owners and Animal Lovers (PAL) had received three cases in which dogs and a pigeon were injured. “All the three strays that were rescued by PAL were either found in a state of shock and were shivering or they had suffered injuries because they were running around in fear. One of the dogs fractured his leg after he rammed into a motorcycle. Another one suffered injures on his paw and maggots were on it. If the wound does not heal then we will have to amputate it,” said Dr. Hemant Thange, a city-based veterinarian. Even Plants and Animals Welfare Society (PAWS) rescued four pigeons who were found in a state of shock. The helpline numbers of animal NGOs were ringing off the hook as many feeders and pet owners were asking for advice. “We came across four pigeons who were found in a state of shock as they are vulnerable to loud noises. We kept them in a cage that was covered with a cloth. They were kept in isolation so that they could calm down. Once they were stable, we shifted them to a shelter home,” said Nilesh Bhanage, founder of PAWS.
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 johnnymarin | Nov 8, 2018 | Bird Deterrent Products
PARIS — They were messengers, spies and sentinels. They led cavalry charges, carried supplies to the front, comforted wounded soldiers and died by the millions during World War I.
Horses, mules, dogs, pigeons and even a baboon all were a vital — and for decades overlooked — part of the Allied war machine.
Researchers have been hard-pressed to find official accounts of the services rendered by animals during the Great War. But if their labors once were taken for granted, four-legged and winged warriors have been acknowledged more recently as unsung heroes.
France recently decided to recognize their wartime role. And in 2004, Britain installed a huge memorial on the edge of London’s Hyde Park to “all the animals that served, suffered and died alongside the British, Commonwealth and Allied forces in the wars and conflicts of the 20th century.”
Here’s a look at how they contributed.
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WHAT THEY DID
An estimated 10 million horses and mules, 100,000 dogs and 200,000 pigeons were enrolled in the war effort, according to Eric Baratay, a French historian specializing in the response of animals to the chaos, fear and smells of death in the mission that man thrust upon them.
World War I marked the start of industrial warfare, with tanks, trucks, aircraft and machine guns in action. But the growing sophistication of the instruments of death couldn’t match the dog tasked with finding the wounded, the horses and mules hauling munitions and food or the pigeons serving as telecommunications operators or even eyes, carrying “pigeongrams” or tiny cameras to record German positions.
“They were quasi-combatants,” said Serge Barcellini, comptroller general of the Armed Forces and head of Le Souvenir Francais — The French Memory — in a recent speech devoted to the role played by beasts of war.
Indeed, gas masks were fitted to the muzzles of four-legged warriors braving noxious battlefield fumes.
In France, as in Britain and elsewhere, horses and mules were requisitioned.
One typical sign posted in southern Paris ordered citizens to present their steeds and mules to the Requisition Committee by Nov. 14, 1914, or risk “prosecution by the military authority.” It was becoming clear there would be no quick end to the war that ground on for four more years.
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FEATHERED HEROES
Cher Ami, or Dear Friend, the carrier pigeon who wouldn’t quit, lived up to her name, saving the lives of 194 American troops of the “Lost Battalion” of the 77th Infantry Division, isolated behind enemy lines during the 1918 Meuse-Argonne offensive in eastern France.
About 550 men had held their ground against a far larger German force for days before coming under fire from American troops unaware the trapped soldiers weren’t the enemy.
On Oct. 4, Maj. Charles Whittlesey sent Cher Ami into the skies with a final message giving the U.S. battalion’s location, followed by a plea: “For heaven’s sake stop it.”
Cher Ami lost an eye and a leg from German gunfire, but kept flying, around 25 miles (40 kilometers) in about a half-hour, according to the United States World War One Centennial Commission. Survivors of the “Lost Battalion” returned to American lines four days later.
Another carrier pigeon named Vaillant, assigned to the French military, also performed extraordinary feats during the war.
On June 4, 1916, he was released into the sky with the desperate message, “He’s my last pigeon.”
French Commander Sylvain Eugene Raynal, encircled by Germans at the Fort de Vaux near Verdun, was counting on Vaillant to save his men.
The feisty bird flew through toxic gas and smoke, reaching the Verdun pigeon loft choked by fumes. With no help arriving despite Vaillant’s courageous effort, Raynal and his men surrendered three days later.
Both Cher Ami and Vaillant were awarded France’s Croix de Guerre, or War Cross.
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ROUND ‘EM UP
Horses are ancient warriors, but most of those conscripted during World War I weren’t war-ready. They died by the millions, from disease, exhaustion and enemy fire, forcing the French and British armies to turn to America to renew their supply. A veritable industry developed with more than half a million horses and mules shipped by boat to Europe by fall 1917, according to the American Battle Monuments Commission.
So important was the commerce that the Santa Fe Railroad named a station Drage, after British Lt. Col. F.B. Drage, the commander of the British Remount Commission in Lathrop, Missouri, a major stockyard for the future beasts of war.
“So the war business in horses and mules is good,” read an article in the December 1915 issue of The Santa Fe Magazine, for employees of the railway system. Good for the farmer, contractor, supplier and railroads, it said, but “not good for the animals.”
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SERVICE BY EXOTICS
Among the more exotic animals called into service was a baboon named Jackie, who served with the 1st South African Infantry Brigade in then British-occupied Egypt and later in the trenches in France and Belgium. His acute hearing and keen eyesight helped warn soldiers of enemy movement or possible attacks when he would screech and tug on their clothing.
Jackie was wounded in Flanders Fields when the South African brigade came under heavy shelling in April 1918 and his leg had to be amputated.
Lt. Col. R.N. Woodsend, of Britain’s Royal Medical Corps, described that procedure: “He lapped up the chloroform as if it had been whiskey, and was well under in a remarkably short time. It was a simple matter to amputate the leg with scissors.”
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DOGS OF WAR
Man’s best friend helped soldiers survive. Dogs served, firstly, as spotters of the wounded, learning to identify ally from enemy. They also served as sentinels, messengers, transporters and chasers of rats — the bane of the trenches along with lice and fleas. The French military created a service devoted to dogs of war in December 1915.
Less official, but crucial to soldiers’ morale, was the role of dogs and other creatures in the trenches, and as mascots. Stray dogs running from fighting were adopted as companions along with other animals, including a Royal Air Force fox mascot adopted by British pilots.
These dogs and other mascots helped soldiers “think of life … and the life they hoped to find again,” said Baratay, the French historian, in a speech last month in Paris.
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 johnnymarin | Nov 7, 2018 | Pigeon Patrol's Services
I’ve got bugs in my blood. After 58 years in the pest control industry, it’s something that I can’t easily turn off. This was blatantly evident on our celebratory birthday vacation for my milestone 65th.
Wife Robin, daughter Leah and I enjoyed two weeks in sunny Italy. I was instinctively attuned to the environment around me, especially when it came to my hosts, often possessing six legs or more.
The more we traveled, my perspective of Italian life (read: sanitation) broadened. It really was a land of contrasts.
Our first stop was urban Florence. My eyes were naturally drawn to all of the restaurant kitchen doors being propped open. Each kitchen seemed to be better than the previous: spotless floors, shining equipment.
Flies and other winged pests seemed to be at a minimum here. Outdoor dining, the norm, never seemed to be intruded upon. Our focus could stay uninterrupted on the food, people watching and soaking-up a new and vibrant culture.
It was difficult, if not impossible, to ignore the pigeons. Everyone seemed to regale in strolling among them and tossing food to watch them tussle for their next meal. They seemed to be as much at home as the 16th and 17th-century icons we ritually visited.
As we ventured to rural Florence, pest activity was turned up a notch. We drove, for what seemed an eternity, through countless miles of grape vineyards and olive orchards. We stayed in a renovated early 19th century stone villa in the rolling hills of Tuscany.
Even before getting our bags inside, we were greeted by a stream of solitary wasps. Nesting under the terracotta tiled roof, they seemed to appear as if to say “Ciao, welcome to your vacation home.”
The next day, my outdoor relaxation was brought to a screeching halt. I was rudely given a reality check by a stink bug landing on my forehead and another on my leg. They somehow knew my bug arsenal was left behind on the other side of the world.
Flying Vacuum Cleaners
Our days were filled exploring small towns and villages throughout the Chianti region. Lunch and dinner were shared with the locals, including the resident pigeons.
It became evident that these winged creatures play a useful role in the restaurant trade: flying vacuums.
While stateside restaurateurs readily employ a hand-powered push vac, many eateries we patronized engaged the services of their no-cost winged buddies. Pigeons made themselves at home, strolling under tables, doing a very efficient job of cleaning. They were readily welcomed. I never saw any of them being shooed away. Roosting on a tabletop was commonplace, especially when the previous diner inadvertently left some food crumbs.
It seemed unusual that a culture would welcome parasite-infested creatures into their dining areas, while at the same time they appeared to be operating with superb sanitation procedures.
I often state how fortunate we are to have food laws and regulators to enforce them. It is something that we take for granted until we experience how others live.
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)
