by johnnymarin | Oct 27, 2018 | Pigeon Patrol's Services
The Yarmouk district in Damascus has switched hands many times in Syria’s war: from rebels, to Daesh (so-called IS) militants, and back to government forces. But Abu Nimr did not budge.
He has remained in his family home with his dog through bombs, siege, and fierce battles for more than seven years, raising pigeons on his roof even as people fled in droves.
Since the army clawed back the enclave around five months ago, he has helped clear heaps of rubble from the streets and repair abandoned houses.
“My siblings and I lived in this building. They’re all married. They left so their kids could go to school,” Abu Nimr told Reuters in the Yarmouk Palestinian camp in the Syrian capital.
“I thought I’d stay here alone, keep an eye on the family property, and hoped things would be resolved within days. But seven years passed, God kept me patient.”
Abu Nimr, who is originally Palestinian, owned a shop selling sweets like baklawa before the conflict.
At the onset, he stored food from the empty houses of his relatives. As supplies dwindled, he often slept hungry. “I took a decision seven years ago that weapons are not my thing. Bloodshed is not easy,” he said.
Abu Nimr, 36, did odd jobs over the years and spent time with his dog Balo. “He was my friend through the siege, and I relied on him to guard the house when I went out.”
When the fighting got too close, he would hide in the furthest room with a hammer in case he had to dig himself out.
The violence has turned his neighborhood into a ghost town, with twisted metal and collapsed walls still blocking some streets. Others are closed off with signs warning of landmines.
By the time the last battle came this year, after scores of residents had escaped or died, only 16 people were left in his neighborhood.
But he refused to leave. “The people fled? The warplanes dropped bombs? The militants entered? It doesn’t matter.”
Now, Abu Nimr wants to bring life back to Yarmouk and hopes people will be able to return soon.
Former neighbors and residents call him from other parts of Syria or abroad, asking him to check on their homes. They send him some money to clean up and repair damages.
State employees and volunteers have opened all of the main roads, he said. “We help with what we can.”
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 | Oct 26, 2018 | Pigeon Patrol's Services
He turns to sisters Gian and Inez and snaps at them: “The reason they’re here defecating and spreading germs all over the place is because people like you feed them!”
The man, who declined to give his name, then takes a fresh mouthful of water before launching another attack on the birds.
Inez says this outburst is relatively mild, adding that she has seen people pour boiling water over pigeons.
She and Gian run “Hong Kong Pigeon and Dove Rescue”, a Facebook group dedicated to promoting awareness for the well-being of pigeons, and which teaches members how to nurse sick birds back to health.
When Gian rescued her first pigeon four years ago, she took the injured bird to several vets before one was willing to take a look at it. The pigeon had a broken wing and it was likely it would never fly again. On the vet’s advice, Gian reluctantly had the bird put down. “Looking back, I think I could’ve nursed it back to health and kept it,” she says. “Even if it never flew again, at least it would’ve lived.”
It was this loss that inspired Gian and Inez, both in their 30s and who prefer to be mentioned only by their first names, to start the Facebook group. With the help of a few like-minded friends, in one year, the group has developed into a community of more than 1,100 members.
“There aren’t many locally available pigeon care resources and providers, unlike those for cats and dogs,” says Gian, a self-taught pigeon rescuer.
“So we created a platform where people can exchange pigeon care tips and learn how to care for sick and injured pigeons without professional intervention.”
For many Hongkongers, like those in the park, what they are doing is unthinkable.
“Pigeons are filthy!” Leung Iok-lam, 70, says.
A pair of Form Six students from a nearby secondary school seem to agree. “I wouldn’t touch a sick pigeon if I saw one,” Melody Ni Tak-yan says. “I’d worry about contracting some sort of disease.”
“Or making a sick pigeon sicker,” Lim Chi-ling adds.
Gian and Inez however, believe pigeons are the victims of misconceptions.
“Many people automatically associate pigeons with avian flu, partly because of public health campaigns,” says Gian, referring to government regulations that forbid feeding feral pigeons to prevent the spread of so-called “bird diseases”.
“I see where they’re coming from, but I hope they would delve deeper into this issue instead of simply believing everything they hear.”
The regulations were introduced in 2003 as part of the government’s efforts to slow the growth of feral bird populations, which authorities claimed were a public nuisance and the cause of hygiene problems. Offenders face fines of HK$1,500 (US$191).
However, according to findings by the World Health Organisation (WHO) from 2002, comparative studies involving pigeons and other bird species showed pigeons were resistant or minimally susceptible to coming down with bird flu.
Subsequent studies on pigeons sampled in China, Japan, Turkey, Romania and Ukraine suggest that pigeons have played a minimal role in the spread of the H5N1 avian flu virus, which emerged in 2004.
Still, the WHO cautioned against unnecessary close contact with pigeons, citing other studies that demonstrate an increased susceptibility of pigeons to the H5N1 strain.
Gian and Inez, who have cared for more than 100 sick or injured pigeons over the past four years, say they have never contracted diseases from the birds, despite not using gloves, surgical masks and other protective gear when handling them. The sisters believe the government’s persistent warnings have created an unwarranted fear of pigeons among many Hongkongers, including even animal health care workers.
“One time, I took a pigeon to the vet to get an X-ray – and it was returned to me with a broken leg,” says Inez. She suspects the medical staff, whom she says were reluctant to handle the bird , broke the leg during the scan.
Meanwhile, Gian recalls being turned down by multiple vets: “Many vets are concerned about taking in pigeons because they do not want to risk getting in trouble with the law, or worry about bird flu affecting business.”
“Many vets are concerned about taking in pigeons because they do not want to risk getting in trouble with the law, or worry about bird flu affecting business”
In Hong Kong, premises where more than 20 pigeons are bred, housed, or cared for require a licence.
Gian has had to rent a second flat to accommodate her work. Her retail career, which requires shift work, means dedicating time to the pigeons can sometimes be difficult. “When you really believe in something, you’ll do whatever it takes to do it right,” she says.
Looking ahead, the Facebook group hopes to involve more experts and professionals from relevant fields to conduct research on the impact of pigeons on public health and the environment, and potentially propose changes to legislation and education – for example, designating feeding zones and implementing measures to control the pigeon population.
Passionate as she may be, Gian is careful where she draws the line between her career, personal life and volunteering. “Many people take it for granted that we would drop everything and help out whenever there is a pigeon in need,” she says. “But I have my own life to lead. If we’re going to push for change, it’s got to be a team effort.”
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 | Oct 25, 2018 | Pigeon Patrol's Services
A group of thirteen pigeons currently living in a research facility in Australia are making history as the first ever pigeons to contain the Cas9 gene in their reproductive systems.
Ben Novak, a scientist committed to “de-extinction” and bringing back the passenger pigeon, has high hopes for the offspring of the pigeons.
Because the birds contain the Cas9 genes, their squabs (fledgling pigeons) will have the Cas9 gene in every single cell and researchers will be able to edit their DNA using CRISPR, a revolutionary gene-editing tool.
If successful, the pigeons will be the first live animals ever edited with extinct DNA.
The ultimate goal is to edit the DNA of the pigeons and incorporate crucial traits of the long-since exciting passenger pigeon to create wholly new hybrids that look and act like passenger pigeons.
This process is similar to plans for bringing back the woolly mammoth by using Asian elephants, the woolly mammoth’s closest living relative.
Sequencing the genome of an extinct species presents many challenges for researchers because the fossil fragments left behind and on display in museums or labs contain only a partial picture.
According to the Wall Street Journal, after an animal dies, it’s DNA begins to degrade and so extinct animals have only fragments of a complete genome.
From this, researchers need to get creative to fill in the blanks and so the obvious solution is to look to the closest living relative of the extinct species in question.
Beth Shapiro, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, led a project that compared the sequenced genome of the band-tailed pigeon and extinct passenger pigeons.
This allowed the research team to identify the genes that set the two species apart. The newly sequenced fragments of the passenger pigeon also revealed new insight into why the birds went extinct.
Once, passenger pigeons were the most abundant land bird in the United States. Passenger pigeons suffered speedy declines because their meat was prized and they were hunted to the brink of extinction. The last known passenger pigeon died in 1914.
Shapiro’s research shows that the birds were genetically geared to thrive in large flocks and it was their sharp dip in numbers that made them more vulnerable and less able to cope.
“Passenger pigeons were fantastically well adapted to living in their large population sizes,” Shapiro told the Daily Mail. “It was the very sudden shift to a small population size that was problematic.”
The researchers also found that the birds were not as genetically diverse as other abundant species.
Building on Shapiro’s research, Novak hopes to breed his new Cas9 pigeons until he has 22 living pairs of feelings that will eventually be bred as well. Once the birds are introduced to passenger pigeon DNA, Novak’s team will edit band-tailed pigeons with as many traits from the passenger pigeon as possible.
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 | Oct 24, 2018 | Bird Deterrent Products
Katie Hemme hasn’t hunted since she was in college, and even then, the only things she tried to shoot were raccoons or coyotes who threatened her family’s sheep farm.
The one time she actually dropped a bird was when she took aim at the pigeons in the haymow, angry after their droppings got all over the hay she was supposed to toss down for the livestock.
When a pigeon fell to the floor, Hemme said her up-close view revealed such a pretty bird, she couldn’t bring herself to shoot another one.
“I liked the idea of trying to hit one, but I didn’t want to see one dead,” she said.
Now a retired physical education teacher, Hemme is one of 11 women registered to participate in Saturday’s Women’s Mentored Hunt during the Minnesota Governor’s Pheasant Hunting Opener in Luverne. This is the second consecutive year the governor’s opener has offered a special hunt for women who are first-time or novice hunters.
While Hemme said she went pheasant hunting a couple of times, she doesn’t recall ever getting a bird.
She doesn’t care much if she gets one this Saturday, either, but the fact that the governor’s hunt is in her hometown of Luverne makes it an opportunity she just can’t pass up.
“I thought it sounded like it would be kind of fun,” said the 77-year-old Hemme. “I’m old and thought that would be a good example to see an old lady out there.”
Hemme owned guns up until she moved into town last year.
“I figured in town I wouldn’t be shooting at coyotes and racoons, and the squirrels move too fast for me,” she said with a laugh.
So, she will borrow a gun for Saturday’s hunt, and perhaps prove to everyone — including her friends — that you’re only as old as you feel.
“(My friends) all kind of looked at me … like, ‘You are nuts!'” Hemme said.
It’s not all that hard to believe, though. Hemme said she was one of the first girls in Minnesota to take a hunting safety class. In the late 1950s, the course was taught in Le Center, where she attended high school.
“There were four of us (girls) in my high school class that attended,” She said. “There was an active gun club in the community.”
Hemme doesn’t know if Saturday’s hunt will lead to more pheasant hunting experiences in the future, but she’s keeping her options open.
“Most of the people I know are quite serious hunters,” she said. “They might not want to drag an amateur along.”
Hemme said she’s grateful the women’s mentored hunt is offered in conjunction with the governor’s annual opener.
“Sometimes these things are so stereotyped,” she said. “It’s important to show that it’s OK for girls to do this — it’s not just a man’s thing. And, you don’t have to be young.”
Kristi Coughlon, an information officer with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources northwest region, is organizing the Women’s Mentored Hunt for the second consecutive year. A hunter with more than 30 years experience, she’s bringing two hunting dogs and has found five other women — and their trained dogs — to mentor the 11 women registered to hunt.
“All of the mentors, we’re there to provide this so women can explore these opportunities,” Coughlon said. “It’s a supportive environment with other women. Where else can you be part of a great celebration and learn from hunters how to hunt?”
Affiliated with the DNR’s “Becoming an Outdoors Woman” program for several years, Coughlon said she’s coordinating the women’s mentored hunt as a way to pay it forward.
“I had an opportunity to be taught by other folks to hunt elk, pheasant, turkeys,” she said. “I want to be able to expose other women to it — to talk to them about barriers or thoughts they have about why they think they can’t do it.”
The female mentors are coming to Luverne from across the state — Coughlon from Bemidji, another from Roosevelt and one from Two Harbors, in addition to others in southwest Minnesota. The hunters include a handful from Luverne and the immediate area, as well as Detroit Lakes, International Falls, Grand Rapids, Sauk Rapids and Bloomington.
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 | Oct 23, 2018 | Pigeons in the News
Signs put up by the council in West Ealing asking people not to feed pigeons have been spray-painted over in the night less than 24 hours after being put up and again after being cleaned just days later.
A small public space on the corner of Melbourne Avenue has become the centre of a bizarre squabble between local pigeon-lovers and annoyed residents, who are utterly fed up with the droppings the birds leave.
Ealing Council recently rejuvenated the spot in response to resident pressure, turning it from untended grass to a paved area with flowerbeds.
But the vandalism last Friday (October 5) and on Monday (October 8) shows the determination of the bird-feeders.
West Ealing Neighbours chairman David Highton, 67, said: “There’s been a long-running problem here for years with people feeding pigeons.
“It attracts birds to an area where they cause considerable difficulties and people get quite passionate about it on both sides, hence someone taking all the trouble to come out in the dead of night to do this.
“If you get that many pigeons together in one place there can be health risks, what with all the diseases they carry, and their droppings block the gutters.
“Someone spent £3,000 putting spikes on their fence and roof and a young couple had to spend £500 getting their gutters cleaned because otherwise the water spills over.”
But clearly not everyone sees the birds as a pest.
What diseases are carried by pigeons?
People living in areas with a lot of pigeon droppings and feathers could be at risk of the following diseases:
- Yeast infection – widely spread by pigeons and can affect the skin, mouth and lungs. Symptoms include bad breath, bloating and joint pain
- Salmonella and E.coli – both bacteria are carried by pigeons and can cause diarrhea and stomach pains. Salmonella also causes fever, while E.coli causes vomiting
- Parrot fever – caught from inhaling bacteria from dry droppings, a very rare but often fatal disease which can cause bloody coughing and brain swelling
- Histoplasmosis – a fungal disease caught by inhaling spores. It causes flu-like symptoms including chest pains, fever and fatigue. Can be fatal for those with weakened immune systems
- Cryptococcosis – another fungal disease found in droppings at around 80% of nesting sites. It can cause a serious pneumonia-like infection in those with weakened immune systems
- St Louis encephalitis – a virus carried by pigeons and transmitted to humans via mosquito bites. It causes fever, dizziness, nausea and headaches and can lead to infection of the nervous system
Mr Highton added: “[Some] people feel it is their right to feed the birds and they come round on a regular basis. Residents have tried to ask them not to do this but some people can get quite abusive.
“West Ealing Neighbours will look after the flower beds and we are keen to make the place look as attractive as possible but given the chance the pigeons will walk all over it as they have in the past and wreck it.
“I’m not personally one who would say that we should get rid of all the pigeons but there’s some places that are not appropriate to feed them because of the health risks and the damage to people’s homes.”
At some point during last Friday night (October 5), after 7.30pm, signs instructing people not to feed pigeons were completely painted over with black spray paint, having only just been installed.
The signs were cleaned on Monday (October 8) morning but again defaced during the night.
A resident who wishes to remain nameless for fear of retribution said: “I have basically got an infestation of pigeons on my house that I cannot do anything about.
“It makes the area look really unsightly to have a massive horde of pigeons defecating everywhere and it’s causing me and my neighbours a massive amount of stress.”
‘The bane of my existence’
“At times there have been up to 30 pigeons defecating all over my property, it means I have to pay people to clean my gutters and have to clean droppings off the front of my house every few weeks.
“The noise they make is also really loud, I struggle to even watch TV. It’s honestly the bane of my existence and really soul-destroying to see people keep feeding them and encouraging them to congregate here.
“I have seen people drive up and tip huge bags of birdseed there on a couple of occasions and every morning a few people drop bread.
“I can appreciate different cultures have different relationships with pigeons than mine does and I try to speak to them nicely but some of them just seem unhinged. One told me that pigeons were the reason we won World War Two so he was going to keep looking after them.
Religions that encourage the feeding of pigeons
Some religious groups encourage the feeding of pigeons.
Sikh high priest and warrior Guru Gobind Singh is often associated with pigeons and many Sikhs believe that, when they are reincarnated, they will never go hungry if they have fed the birds in a previous life.
Some religious groups also believe that when a person dies his or her soul assumes the form of a bird, very often a pigeon, and that by feeding birds they are caring for the souls of their departed ancestors.
The pigeon is a revered animal in India and flocks numbering in the thousands are fed daily outside Hindu temples throughout the country.
“We spent a long time complaining to the council and they eventually paid a significant sum to have the area redeveloped. At the time I thought it would make people change their behaviour but the signs were painted over instantly.
“If this person’s prepared to spray public signs, which is a criminal act, it seems like they would do whatever is necessary to keep feeding the birds.”
In response to the vandalism Ealing councillor Mik Sabiers said: “Pigeons are pests and it’s been an offence to feed them since the 1981 Environment Act.
Should people feed pigeons?
“They impact on residents’ enjoyment of our parks and open spaces and there is a cost to cleaning up after these birds.
“If someone is seen feeding pigeons, a fixed penalty notice will be issued in line with the council’s policy on fining those caught dropping litter on the borough’s streets.”
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)
