More Complaints About Pigeons Filed This Year But Residents Doesn’t Want Them to Be Culled

By
Shawn Ambrose
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There’s only one class of vertebrates that can poop on you from the clouds: birds. 

While many of us marvel at their ability to soar in the sky, others are too concerned about getting pooped on to stop and lookup.

In Singapore, the only bird we most commonly see in the sky is the pigeon, though some chickens have been seen gloriously flying through the air lately.

Residents typically avoid pigeons, though, because they carry diseases that can cause health issues.

While we had a brief respite from them during the circuit breaker last year, it seems that the pigeons have stopped working from home as well, and are now the bane of many residents’ lives.

More Complaints About Pigeons Filed This Year 

The National Parks Board (NParks) has reported a slight increase in the number of complaints it receives about pigeons this year.

So far, around 4,400 complaints have been filed about pigeons in 2021, which will overtake the 8,200 complaints received in all of last year if they keep coming in at the same rate.

Some residents have complained of pigeons pooping on their clothes when they’re hung out to dry, with some even flying into homes.

And as one resident told TODAY, birds and their droppings can carry over 60 diseases.

So, some of them hang their clothes inside and keep their windows closed to keep the pigeons at bay, but this makes for poor ventilation and makes it warmer inside.

But why is this happening?

Feeding Pigeons the Problem – Sometimes We Do It Inadvertently 

According to Dr Adrian Loo, group director of wildlife management at NParks, feeding is the main problem here.

Humans, whether directly or through disposing of food scraps improperly, provide food for the pigeons, which helps them breed more.

In fact, a recent study by NParks found that 70% of the food consumed by feral pigeons were from human sources.

During the circuit breaker last year, when F&B establishments were closed, pigeons were found to have spent more time searching for food and less time resting, which resulted in these pigeons mating less.

Food is not in short supply this year, however. So, with full tummies and no worries, these pigeons are going at it like rabbits.

No Culling Please

Despite the complaints, many residents don’t want the birds to be culled.

They wish the problem to be solved using more human methods instead.

As one resident pointed out, the pigeons are sometimes fed pellets with poison that make them shiver and die slowly.

“It is like slow poison you know? I have even seen birds who are flying in mid-air suddenly drop down dead,” he told TODAY.

What Can We Do?

According to NParks, there are three main things we can do to solve this issue:

  1. Remove food sources
  2. Reduce high-rise littering
  3. Manage food waste at eateries

“We have also been pushing out an anti-feeding campaign emphasising that everyone has a part to play. The public can help to mitigate population growth and congregation issues by not feeding birds and disposing of food scraps properly,” it said.

Anybody caught feeding pigeons can now be fined up to S$10,000 under the Wildlife Act.

Featured Image: dkroy/ shutterstock.com

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Shawn Ambrose
Email: [email protected]