The petition to reduce the use of cruel bird deterrents on buildings continues to fly freely. The scandal of how our rooftop birds such as gulls, kittiwakes, swifts, swallows and pigeons are currently treated needs to catch the eye of the wider public so together we can grab the UK Government’s attention. More effort to reduce the cruelty and killing caused by the use of rooftop bird deterrents is urgently needed.
Please consider signing the petition. Share it widely or kindly contribute to promote it. Thank you.
Not Clever or Kind
This week’s striking Rooftop Bird image is thanks to ©Debbie Geraghty. This is a Wood Pigeon who clearly thinks they deserve the finer things in life. And what a view that is! It’s the Tamar estuary in Cornwall looking across to Devon. Sadly, cruel bird netting and metal spikes are the deterrents that many of these birds experience when stopping over on Britain’s city rooftops. Bird deterrents are rarely clever or kind. Birds should not be mistreated, injured or killed by these injurious and brutal measures.
Many of you will have heard about the landmark IPCC report on climate change. It makes for scary though unsurprising reading. It’s not just about CO2 emissions, it is about biodiversity too. Our future depends on the success or failure of nature’s connected systems. Governments, businesses and us as individuals all need to step up our game urgently to protect nature. It is too easy to give in to individual despair in the face of the inaction by politicians to date.
On a personal level, seeing the encouraging comments of supporters of this petition has shown me just how much people truly value our wildlife and biodiversity. Living through Covid many people now see for themselves how nature contributes to our lives and wellbeing. People, importantly, are joining up the dots that link the related crises of biodiversity and climate.
Now, we need both big things to happen to stop this climate disaster, yet also, we must not forget the little things along the way. I, like many, refuse to give in to despair and prefer to take action. I hope you, as a supporter of the environment and planet, will consider taking action in as many ways as possible too. It needs many of us throwing everything we can at the problem to turn things around.
Please contribute in whatever way you can. Let’s leave a functioning planet behind for our children. Let’s include the squawking gulls and the fluttering pigeons of our rooftops too within that hopeful vision. Everything and everyone plays their part.
Today for Britain’s Rooftop Birds; help ramp up the pressure on the authorities to stop the cruelty and save birds lives. Sign, share or promote the petition.
Be a Rooftop Bird Activist…
Help promote the petition or simply share a selfie with a hand-made colourful placard adding two of the hashtags from the list below. Add the petition link too if possible. Thank you. If you have regular rooftop bird visitors why not feature them in a selfie too!
#NoToBirdSpikes #BanBirdNetting #ReduceBirdDeterrents #LetTheBirdsFly #Biodiversity #GullsAreGreat #ClimateAction #PigeonsDeserveBetter #Nature
Ban Rooftop Bird Netting and Redesign How we Deter Birds
I started the ChangeOrg petition after seeing a dead Herring Gull seemingly killed by bird deterrent spikes on a rooftop.
Having grown up near the coast, I was shocked to find out that though Herring Gulls still seem common, their populations have plummeted by a staggering 50 per cent since 1970. Defined as vulnerable, these rooftop birds are now on the red list of birds of conservation concern.
Herring Gulls are not the only rooftop birds affected by the cruel bird deterrents. For example Kittiwakes are red listed. The Lesser Black-backed Gull is also on the amber list and swallows and swifts maybe declining. Rooftop birds like gulls, pigeons, birds of prey, crows, swifts and swallows are all vulnerable to being injured or killed by the bird netting & spikes. And it’s all still being used on our buildings and garden walls.
Apart from helping maintain life-giving biodiversity, the bottom line to this issue is that cruelty should be designed out from the choice of deterrent measures used against rooftop birds. In the face of the climate and biodiversity crises let’s together tip the balance the right way in favour of nature, climate and against animal cruelty.
Every small action we take; even to save a seagull, pigeon, swallow or swift helps!
Pigeons Deserve Better
I’ve been struck by the mixed reaction to gulls and pigeons from those commenting on the news coverage here in Wales. It’s definitely a bit of a marmite; love them or don’t care for them at all reaction. People either really care for birds in general; and this, for them, includes ‘common’ birds. Others point to bird mess, the birds protecting their young during breeding season (who wouldn’t!), stealing of ice creams (we’ll get over it?) and the noise they make. Its worth remembering that it's because gulls and pigeons are such successful scavengers that they actually often do us a favour in cities and towns by clearing our streets of food scraps (now much rarer thanks to better food recycling) on our beaches.
We humans depend on the incredible diversity of nature for our very existence.
I’m a gardener, so like many of us, I have really noticed the effects of climate change & biodiversity loss in my work to grow food. I’m reminded that all this diverse nature, however common, is part of a bigger jigsaw worldwide. Each species or puzzle piece contributes to the whole; often in ways we haven’t begun to understand. It is this altogether that makes this crazy planet we live on thrive so we survive.
Things you can also do to help
Join the Facebook group: Rooftop Bird Club
If you have photographic evidence of injury or death to birds caused by bird deterrents please consider sharing photos with the petition link on social media with your reaction and the relevant hashtags.
If you have useful evidence for example from working as a roofer, builder or at an animal rescue hospital please kindly contact me, Patrick Driscall, via Facebook Messenger.
Any helpful ideas, research or contacts please contact me as above also, on Twitter @joboxer12 or at the Rooftop Bird Club.
Help keep this petition flying. Thank you!