Pigeon abuse is alive and kicking in London, as I observed on 20 April 2023!
Pigeon abuse never happened in the past, when pigeons were loved and fed - often by children - as their first point of contact with nature.
Pigeons saved thousands of human lives during both World Wars, yet who knows this? Why are these facts being hidden from public knowledge?
Today, pigeons are specifically named and blamed at every opportunity
Pigeon abuse is animal abuse. It is illegal under the Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981, which “protects” all wild birds - including pigeons, from cruelty. This law is not being adequately enforced. It needs to be enforced to protect pigeons and stop the abuse from continuing. Please ask your MP to get this law enforced, and to take steps towards removal of unhelpful public notices and to discourage the occurrence of damning references to pigeons in textbooks and guidebooks and in the media.
I would welcome your comments, so that I can pass them on to those people in authority, who might be able to help stop the abuse. Thank you.
This week, on 20 April 2023, at an art exhibition in a London park, I saw a book describing different species of birds to be seen in the park. The book specifically mentioned feral pigeons as unworthy of being fed.
On that same day, I saw a notice near the park cafe, asking people not to feed the pigeons, “for reasons of hygiene”.
There were also public notices, warning people against contact with birds, because of bird flu.
Later that same day, as I was passing Marble Arch, which is one of the busiest thoroughfares in Central London, by bus, I saw a boy chasing and kicking pigeons across the grass there, forcing flocks of them to soar up into the sky, terrified for their lives. He chased them again and again, until all the pigeons had fled from the area. Meanwhile, a group of police officers, standing nearby, apparently ignored this.
What kind of message does this convey to people - and children in particular? The consequences of this, for animal welfare, are frightening.
-My Petition link is below. Please sign and share it. It currently has 15,406 signatures.
Hear the song, “Please be Nice to Pigeons”:-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWbqyExGnGk
-We all deserve parks and public places to be abuse-free, as they were, before 2001, when the awful era of pigeon abuse began.
-Ask the Department for Education to teach children kindness to pigeons specifically on the National Curriculum.
https://www.gov.uk/contact-dfe
-Ask the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, (Prince William and Kate), to teach children to respect pigeons.
https://royalfoundation.com/early-childhood/
-Contact social media, newspapers, TV, schools, colleges.
Many thanks for your support.