The petition is getting noticed! The petition to reduce the use of cruel bird deterrents on buildings has now passed 37,000 signatures. Not quite up there with Marcus Rashford yet, but hey, that footballer is an example to us all!
At least two newspapers here in Wales are about to cover this bird petition story. I'll keep you posted...
Please sign and share the petition with your friends or on social media. The petition link is below.
#Nature #birds #NoToBirdSpikes #NoToBirdNetting #NoToBirdDeterrents #LetTheBirdsFly
Stopping the death or injury of birds on roofs
I recently saw a poor now endangered Herring Gull dangling dead from a roof top caught by a strip of spiked bird deterrents. I’ve also seen birds caught in netting set up on roofs to deter birds. I questioned why we don’t value our roof top birds more. That’s why I started the petition.
I recently requested a meeting with Julie James MS of the Welsh Government to discuss better ways forward and to help reduce the use of cruel bird deterrents.
Come join the Rooftop Bird Club
The Rooftop Bird Club was inspired by the petition support. I hope it may become a place for nature lovers to celebrate not only birds but plants and other wildlife that make their homes on our buildings, in our gardens and local green spaces.
Joining is easy. Just search for the group on Facebook. Then share your urban/garden nature pictures and stories or create appropriate debate and discussion.
Please help now
Sign and share the petition with your friends or on social media to help ensure rooftop birds land safely and prosper.
#Nature #birds #NoToBirdSpikes #NoToBirdNetting #LetTheBirdsFly
Common birds on our rooftops deserve our care too
This week’s stunning photo of a Jay is shared with kind permission from ©Maït Foulkes who donated brilliant images of roof top birds to this campaign. They do sometimes perch on roofs particularly in more wooded parts of our cities. Habitats and their conservation matter for them too of course.
“- installed bird deterrent netting in particular is sometimes indeed lethal.” He (a respected pest control operator) has sadly seen and tried to help 20 gulls, more than 100 pigeons and even a swift caught in such netting.
Jays, Pigeons, Magpies, Jackdaws, Rooks, Wood pigeons and Collared Doves (and more rarely endangered Turtle Doves) are visitors to many of our house rooftops. They are often in danger of being injured or killed by bird deterrent spiked strips and installed bird netting.
Netting installed as bird deterrent on rooftops clearly causes many, many deaths and injuries as witnessed by the statement above.
There appears to have been no peer reviewed research on the fatality and injury rate of spiked deterrents strips. I recently received the above message from a respected pest controller as a result of this petition. Though the numbers hurt or killed by spikes is perhaps relatively low, it would be so great if a scientific institution could attempt research.
This particular pest controller is campaigning for Non-Lethal Licences to be made available in Scotland. Amazingly they are not available only can you believe ‘lethal’ ones! I hope you will support me in supporting his campaign in Wales and hopefully in time all parts of the UK.
Perhaps, against the background of the interrelated climate and biodiversity crises, it is high time we as humans collectively recognise the wellbeing benefits of embracing the urban nature communities around us too. Our lives may partly depend on it.
Odd dead birds because of rooftop spikes or deterrent netting really do matter along with all the bigger things we know we must do to help our planet.
3 things to help
Join the Facebook group: Rooftop Bird Club
If you have shareable photographic evidence of injury or death to birds caused by bird deterrents please consider sharing the photos with the petition link on social media along with your own reaction and the hashtags above. If you are on Twitter do DM me a copy at @joboxer12.
Share constructive ideas or helpful contacts by DM on Twitter @joboxer12.
What now?
Let’s welcome and encourage birds to our roofs rather than always deter them.
In the face of the joint crises of climate and biodiversity let's decide that killing or injuring of roof top dwelling birds can and should wherever possible be avoided. Please join the campaign to ensure that installation of bird deterrents including bird spikes & netting is used only in extreme circumstances, at the right time & that it is of the most appropriate design.
Build Back Greener
Building back greener can include welcoming our feathered biodiversity to the roofs of our homes and offices with enhanced education, reducing the use of bird deterrents, nest boxes, better pest control operator licensing including non-lethal licensing, appropriate planning controls & better funding for wildlife crime teams and prosecution.
This petition calls upon the Welsh and UK Governments to urgently review & take steps to stop the killing and injuring of birds across the U.K. due to the use of bird deterrents.
Our #birds don’t deserve to be killed or injured. Let’s tip the balance in favour of #biodiversity and #climate. Thank you so much for all your support. Let’s keep zoom on to success!!!!!!