Video Of Pigeon Culling in S’pore Shows How Pigeons Are Kicked & Thrown Into Trashbags

I like to think that the world’s a happy place. Sun’s shining, birds are chirping, you know, the works.

But the reality cannot be further from what I constantly tell myself. For even at this moment, terrible things are happening. Crimes, bullying, assault… they’re happening everywhere, and they’re not stopping.

Sure, you argue. We’re Singaporeans, and we shouldn’t be so bothered about stuff we cannot control, such as overseas happenings. And in that aspect, I agree. Singapore is a safe country, and I do pride myself as a citizen living amidst a safe working environment (let’s not talk about the stress).

Yet, even so, to tell myself that terrible things aren’t happening in Singapore would be akin to watching the following video and pretending that it’s not actually happening.

Delusional.

The mistreatment of still-alive pigeons… you probably never knew about

On 9 April, the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) of Singapore published a rather disturbing video on its Facebook platform.

Titled ‘THE REALITY OF PIGEON POISONING IN SINGAPORE’, the video opens to a grass patch of sorts, where a contractor (who was allegedly hired by the town council) can be seen throwing a live, poisoned pigeon into a trash bag.

Thereafter, the contractor attempts to dispose of another nestling pigeon, but this one got away.

The video then exhibits further scenes with similar behaviour, in which alleged contractors can be seen trying to dispose of apparently poisoned pigeons.

In a scene, later on, one can be spotted struggling in its enclosure, while another pecked at the metal pan it was nestling in.

Eventually, the video ends off with the sole shot of an evidently injured pigeon, which was trying feebly to get off the floor.

The video was accompanied by a lengthy caption, which reads as follows:

[WARNING: VIDEO MAY CAUSE DISTRESS]

THE REALITY OF PIGEON POISONING IN SINGAPORE

Some of us will make a call to the town council to rid the pigeons.

Some of us will throw some rice and bread for the pigeons, thinking you did the right thing.

But how many of us are ready to accept that this is what the current method of addressing the pigeon population in #Singapore looks like in #reality?

Taken in Hougang this evening, this video shows how pigeons are poisoned after which live birds are thrown into a trash bag by contractors (engaged by the town council).

While ACRES will file a cruelty case to investigate the way these birds were handled even as a culling operation, there are questions we need to ask ourselves:

1. Is this how we want to raise our new generations who bear witness to the way we treat animals as disposables and mishandling them while they struggle to live?

2. Although pigeon feeding is disallowed, how is it that those pigeon feeders everywhere still get away with it?

3. Pigeons are culled for over a decade now in Singapore. Shouldn’t an effective method not require continuous resources spent on such culling operations again and again?

4. Is culling (alone) pigeons scientifically proven to work anywhere in the world?

This is not an isolated issue to Hougang, but an island-wide operation done in many areas following complaints about pigeon nuisance.

Can you write to your town council voicing your opinion asking for action against pigeon feeders and humane measures to control the pigeon population?

#Pigeons #Speakup #pigeonpoisoning #AnimalWelfare #UrbanWildlife #HumanWildlifeConflict #culling #columbalivia

You can watch the original video here.

Note that some viewers might find it disturbing.

Netizens react

After the video was uploaded online, Netizens turned up in droves to air their opinions.

And as one might’ve suspected, they didn’t exactly take well to the form of culling involved.

Some also explained why pigeons might’ve been getting fed.

Though the ‘realest’ truth, as a whole, seems to have been surmised by this user.

Reality, indeed.

Terrible things

Sure, Singapore might be a safe country.

Sure, terrible things might have a lower probability of happening in Singapore, as compared to other countries.

Even so, however, it would a misconception to perceive terrible things as that of non-existent in Singapore.

For even right now, there’s stuff happening that we’re not aware of.