The current Public Space Protection Order (PSPO)  criminalises bird feeding, a normal behaviour which we have engaged in the UK for many hundreds of years. This ban on feeding is causing suffering to pigeons and decreasing the quality of life for residents in Harrow. We ask Harrow council to redefine the terms of the PSPO at the next review ( due  31/01/27) so it more accurately addresses and punishes the reason it was made, i.e.excessive feeding in regards to rodent control, whilst still allowing, responsible feeding of birds. Redefining the PSPO in this way will largely decriminalise it and will free up resources from monitoring and preventing all bird feeding in the borough, which many view as a  non criminal harmless activity, to focus on more harmful dangerous types of antisocial behaviour. Bird feeding  greatly enhances the quality of life of many residents for emotional, psychological and spiritual reasons and should be more widely permitted for these reasons too. 

The main group affected by the PCSO are the birds themselves. Feral pigeons are a domesticated species and are reliant on  human activity for survival. With responsible feeding being banned in many town areas where they reside, they do not have access to good nutritional foods and will suffer from malnutrition from only eating junk food scraps.  

People who work in pigeon welfare eg. in destringing programmes, are also not able to operate in Harrow. Pigeons can often get string or hair caught around their feet, this  is a painful condition which cuts off circulation and can even lead to toes being amputated. Destringing removes this from the bird, however the way pigeons are caught for this, and for other ailments, is by scattering a small amount of food to lure the pigeons close. The PSPO means that the people who do this may get fines. Very often they will choose not to work in Harrow, which means that birds here are being left to suffer.  This is inhumane and a lot more thought should have been given to these issues before these widespread PSPOs were created. 

It is unclear if Harrow Council had done an Equality Impact Assessment when the  PSPO was being planned. If it had been conducted properly it may have been understood that the birdfeeding ban impacts some groups in Harrow especially and so constructed differently. For example: 

Harrow is a London Borough of great diversity. Many faiths,e.g. Christianity, Islam Jainism, Buddhism, place importance on compassionate and charitable deeds, birdfeeding being one of them. There are many Hindus ( approx 71k, 26% of the population) in the borough and in this faith Crows and Feral pigeons are symbolic spiritual birds with associated religious feeding rituals.  The nature of the feral pigeon means that it can not often be found in suburban gardens and parks, instead preferring to live in town areas whose architecture most closely resembles the cliff top environment that it originally evolved to live in. 

The feeding of crows is tied to ancestor rituals. This shy species would not likely visit and feed at the busy crowded 'official' feeding area i.e. Pinner Memorial Park. Crows are not a species that can always be found in suburban gardens, but they will often use larger parks as communal areas, for socialisation and foraging.  Also the idea that people can simply feed particular species of birds in their gardens at home excludes those people who have no gardens at home.

Other groups who may be unfairly discriminated against with the PSPO bird feeding ban  who feed birds because it is a psychologically uplifting activity. People can benefit from this if they have mental health issues, or suffer from loneliness. Very often bird feeding can provide a sense of connection to the world which is difficult to find elsewhere. It is a disasterous message for humanity when the State  severs this instinctive simple connection and chooses to punish kindness and compassion. 

Caring for birds is part of our culture and more needs to be done to value and retain it. Harrow council needs to change the terms of the PSPO to allow more responsible bird feeding thoughout the borough. This will allow birds to have access to good nutrition, medical treatment and rescue. It will allow people to practice compassion, gain enjoyment, express religious freedom and regulate mental health. The State would also be able to redirect resources to more serious crimes.