New York City Considers Designated Feeding Areas for Pigeons

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/14/dont-feed-the-pigeons-here-but-over-there-ok/

“Safe pigeon-feeding zones” may be designated around the city as part of the negotiations between animal rights groups and the Brooklyn city councilman who has proposed fining pigeon feeders as much as $1,000 as strategy to control New York’s pigeon population.

Fines, which had been used successfully in Basel, Switzerland, to limit pigeon proliferation, were the most concrete proposal in a pigeon report issued by Councilman Simcha Felder’s office in November. Other ideas in the report included pigeon birth control and a pigeon czar.

But the report and the proposed fines brought out a number of pigeon proponents who defended the urban birds’ rights to co-exist with humans in New York’s sprawl. Since November, Mr. Felder’s office has been meeting with a number of groups over the fine-for-feeding legislation. In December, at one of those meetings, the Humane Society brought up the idea of safe pigeon-feeding zones with Mr. Felder’s office.

“If our idea was, there are too many pigeons around where people are walking, waiting for the subway, sitting in parks, etc.,” said Eric Kuo, a spokesman for Mr. Felder. “Someone brought up, if there are areas where people are not around, what’s the harm of allowing feeding there?”

The pigeon-friendly zones could include less-densely trafficked areas in Central Park and Prospect Park, Mr. Kuo said. The City Council’s lawyers who draft legislation have been asked to see if such a plan is feasible.

Councilman Simcha Felder Tackle New York's Pigeon Issues

Take note of the date -- but this may be a viable solution.

Nov 13, 2007 10:49 AM
Nachum hosted Councilman Felder on JM in the AM to discuss the outlawing of feeding New York pigeons.

Nachum spoke with the Hon. New York City Councilman Simcha Felder on JM in the AM this morning to discuss the councilman's latest legislative actions: outlawing pigeon feeding in NY.

He is hoping to redirect where the pigeons congregate by designating certain areas for pigeon feeding and outlawing it everywhere else.

http://www.nachumsegal.com/readBlog.cfm?blog=46891

Other interviews with the Councilman:
http://www.nachumsegal.com/searchResults.cfm?searchFor=news:felder

Source: Nachum's News (NachumSiegel.com)

Commentary: Pigeons, People & Perceptions

Commentary
Pigeons, people & perceptions
By Mickey Z.
Online Journal Contributing Writer
Nov 15, 2007, 00:14

New York City Councilman Simcha Felder is sick and tired of some Big Apple residents “doing whatever they do all over the city without anyone trying to stop it.” Is he talking about trigger-happy cops, double parked cab drivers, omnipresent terror suspects, loud cellphone users, or maybe corporate lawyers? Nope. Felder has his legislative eye on Columba livia, a.k.a. Rock Pigeon (the bird formerly known as Rock Dove).

According to BirdWeb.com, the Rock Pigeon is “originally from Europe, Northern Africa, and India” but was “introduced to North America in the 1600s.” Since then, of course, “numbers have increased significantly as more and more of our country is urbanized.”

To combat the seemingly urgent problem of urbanized pigeon droppings, the intrepid Councilman Felder plans to introduce legislation banning the feeding of Columba livia. To defy this ban would be to risk a $1,000 fine. (Interestingly, the Rock Pigeon is despised while conversely its all-white cousins -- the Dove -- remain a beloved symbol of peace. Could this be a case of avian racism?) Mayor Michael Bloomberg hasn’t yet endorsed the ban but did opine: “We do have a lot of pigeons and they do tend to foul a lot of our areas.”

Just for the hell of it, let’s replace the word “pigeons” with the word “corporations” in Bloomberg’s statement. Better fit, huh? How about if we just insert “humans”?

For some, the feral pigeon could be viewed as a nuisance. But in all the thousands of years Columba livia have dwelled on this planet, did any of them ever feel the need to invent, say, nuclear weapons? No Rock Dove created pesticides, napalm, Agent Orange, or the internal combustion engine; you can’t blame cigarettes, greenhouse gases, hydroelectric dams, waterboarding, or mercury-laced vaccinations on a pigeon; and rest assured no non-human conjured up zoos, animal experimentation, factory farming, or the rodeo.

Also in the news is James M. Stevenson, founder of the Galveston Ornithological Society. Stevenson is currently on trial in Texas, charged with fatally shooting a cat that he said was “stalking endangered shorebirds.” In his own defense, the bird-watching enthusiast said: “This is about wild species disappearing from your planet. I did what I had to do.” Apparently, that jury will hear no theories as to why so many wild species are disappearing from our planet.

Maybe Councilman Felder can blame that on the Rock Pigeon, too.

Copied with permission: Online Journal
Mickey Z. can be found on the Web at http://www.mickeyz.net/.

Copyright © 1998-2007 Online Journal
Email Online Journal Editor

Pigeon-Ban Pusher Addresses Community Board 12 Meeting

12/13/2007
Pigeon-ban pusher:‘I like pigeons’
By Matthew Wolfe
Courier Life Publications

City Councilmember Simcha Felder addresses CB 12 at a recent meeting.

City Councilmember Simcha Felder explained his rationale behind penalizing the public feeding of pigeons at a Community Board 12 meeting last week. Citing messiness and health danger, Felder said that while he supported the existence of pigeons he felt it important to keep their population growth in check.

“The proposal that I put forward is to ban feeding pigeons in public places” said Felder. “We don’t intend to eliminate pigeons in New York City or in the rest of the world.” Felder said he wouldn’t restrict the feeding of pigeons on private proper, he has reportedly said that he would like a $1,000 fine for the feeding of pigeons in public.

Felder has not yet introduced a bill, but has reportedly said that he will do in some time in December.

Felder suggested that he had scaled down his proposals from those offered in the report.

While Felder’s report recommends promoting the breeding of hawks to curb the pigeon population and the deployment of pigeon birth control - as well as appointing a city “Pigeon Czar” – he said at the meeting that he was currently “not into discussing” contraception and hawks but was only emphasizing the limitation of the bird’s food source.

The ASPCA and PETA, the animals organization, support his plan, Felder said, although for different reasons. The groups say that over-population is harmful to the species.

Communicable health risks involving pigeons all stem from contact with their excrement, Felder said. A recent report released by his office that outlined the reasons behind his plan, says the droppings can host such as ornithosis, encephalitis, Newcastle disease, cryptococcosis, toxoplasmosis, salmonella food poisoning and histoplasmosis. The reports says while the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene consider pigeon droppings to be only a nuisance, their literature cites the threat several diseases in the stool.

Due to the corrosive nature of their droppings, pigeons are estimated to cause approximately 1.1 billion in damage nationwide annually, the report said. According to a recent study, pigeons leave approximately 25 pounds of excrement over the course of a single year, or slightly more than one ounce a day. Pigeons are sufficiently supplied with food left out for them that they are unable to consume all of it. The remainder, Felder said, is often eaten by rats, allowing them to procreate and prosper.

Felder acknowledged to the Borough Park/Kensington residents present that while some may regard the blessings bestowed by the pigeons atop the elevated F-line as a good omen, he said others are less sanguine about receiving such a benediction.

Pigeon Feeding Ban in Other Areas

CHICAGO, Dec. 14 (UPI) --

Two Chicago aldermen are calling for fines of up to $1,000 and jail sentences of up to six months for people who feed the city's pigeons.

"No person shall purposely provide food -- including, but not limited to grain, seeds, greens, bread crumbs and miscellaneous food scraps -- intended for pigeon ingestion on public property or property subject to the city right-of-way," the proposed ordinance says.

Aldermen Danny Solis and Helen Shiller introduced it at a City Council meeting Wednesday, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

Violating the ordinance would result in fines of "not less than $100 or more than $1,000" and up to six months in jail.

Solis said well-fed pigeons in the city each drop 25 pounds of fecal matter every year."It doesn't look good to have all of this fecal matter around a very beautiful monument" at 18th and Blue Island, Solis said. The droppings "causing damage -- not only to property, but to health .... Whenever they overfeed them, rats gather around the statue. That's another health problem," Solis said.
_____________________________________________
Pigeon feeding ban goes to council Monday
Doug Williamson
The Windsor Star (ONTARIO, CANADA)
Saturday, December 15, 2007

Despite an apparent negative public response and possible enforcement problems, city council will consider a bylaw Monday forbidding the feeding of pigeons and stray animals in Windsor.

A fine of up to $5,000 will be the penalty for breaking the bylaw, if it's passed. The bylaw forbids such feeding on public and private property.

Of 37 people who formally commented on the proposed bylaw to city hall, 15 supported it while 22 were opposed, according to a report to council.

According to the staff report to be considered by council, those opposed to the bylaw made points such as:

- They were concerned over the well-being of strays.
- The bylaw should apply only to pigeons.
- Bird feeding is a legitimate hobby.
- Feeding bans should only be imposed in designated areas.
- The bylaw would be unenforceable.

Those in favour of the bylaw: cited the mess made by birds; supported a ban on feeding of cats; cited problems when pigeons congregate near apartment balconies; and raised concerns over building structures damaged by pigeon excrement.

The report also notes that "resources will be required" to enforce such a bylaw.
"If additional resources are not available for the enforcement of the bylaw, existing enforcement resources will be stretched and it is likely that enforcement officers will be unable to pursue enforcement of other bylaws."

Public Nuisance
It also says that "if existing resources are diverted to the enforcement of this bylaw, revenue from other bylaw offences may be reduced."

In Ontario, only Hamilton and Ajax have similar bylaws.

The report to council says that those in favour of the bylaw feel that feeding pigeons and strays is a public nuisance that attracts rodents and other animals to a regular food source and results in property damage and interferes with enjoyment of property.

Those opposed say that the bylaw intrudes on their regular activities of feeding animals, and could result in inhumane treatment of the feral cat population.

"Once the person exercising the right to feed pigeons or stray animals impacts another's enjoyment of their property due to the creation of a nuisance, it is reasonable to attempt to eliminate the feeding activity that results in the nuisance to others," the report says.
___________________________________________
Pigeon feeding targeted by City Council
By John Rudolf
Friday, January 4, 2008
News-Herald
ARIZONA
see article

Pigeon feeders beware.

Those caught feeding the city's feathered residents will face a maximum of 30 days in jail and a $500 fine, if the City Council approves a proposed ordinance at Tuesday's council meeting.

Identical penalties would be levied on those caught feeding coyotes within the city limits, according to a similar ordinance also up for a vote."I think it's the right thing to do. Pigeons continue to be a problem," said vice-mayor Dennis Schilling. "We should make it clear that this is an unacceptable practice."

The maximum 30-day jail sentence, however, might be a little severe, Schilling thought. "Thirty days I thought was a little excessive, and we'll probably have some discussion on that," he said. "Repeat offenders might come down to serving jail time."According to the city attorney's office, an existing ordinance already bans the feeding of pigeons within Mohave County. If the city's ordinance is found to conflict with the county law, it would be removed from the council's agenda. Yet as the sight of people feeding pigeons in the parks and the English Village clearly shows, that ordinance is not being enforced."It doesn't help that some of our businesses sell those blocks of food that feed the birds," Schilling said.

A state law exists banning the feeding of all wildlife, including pigeons and coyotes, but only within counties with a high enough population density. Largely rural Mohave County does not meet that threshold.

According to Curtis Herbert, wildlife manager with the Arizona Game and Fish Department, the feeding of coyotes can result in more aggressive and less fearful coyote populations. "That's the biggest problem," he said. "When they feed them, they teach the coyotes to think of humans as providers of food."
____________________________________________

The LOS ANGELES Municipal Code (that pesky LAMC that is most notable on parking restriction signs on private property and on parking tickets).

According to Section 53.43 as of 1985,
"No person shall feed any pigeons upon any public street or sidewalk or in any public park in that portion of this City bounded and described as follows:" That which follows is a legalize written map (could not copy map......)

As you can see, Pershing Square is part of this area; but other than that, the area does not seem to have any rationale for existing in the area it does. It was designed as addressing the "Central Business District" of Los Angeles. Since the passage of this ordinance over 20 years ago, things have changed and the ordinance may need to be re-examined. (Also, it doesn't prohibit anyone from feeding birds on their private property.)

From LAMC Section 53.43:
Beginning at the intersection of the center line of First Street with the center line of Los Angeles Street; thence southwesterly along the center line of Los Angeles Street to the center line of Eighth Street; thence northwesterly along the center line of Eighth Street to the center line of Main Street; thence southwesterly along the center line of Main Street to the center line of Ninth Street; thence northwesterly along the center line of Ninth Street to the center line of Olive Street; thence northeasterly along the center line of Olive Street to the center line of Eighth Street; thence northwesterly along the center line of Eighth Street to the center line of Flower Street; thence southwesterly along the center line of Flower Street to the center line of Ninth Street; thence northwesterly along the center line of Ninth Street to the center line of Figueroa Street; thence northeasterly along the center line of Figueroa Street to the center line of Sixth Street; thence southeasterly along the center line of Sixth Street to the center line of Olive Street; thence northeasterly along the center line of Olive Street to the center line of First Street; thence southeasterly along the center line of First Street to the point of beginning.


_______________________________________________
Vittorio Hernandez - AHN News Writer


VENICE, ITALY (AHN) - Venice has banned the feeding of pigeons on its famous San Marco Square because of the damage caused by bird droppings on the city's landmarks. The city council intends to implement the prohibition by cutting off the pigeon's food supply, principally bird seeds vended on the square.

Beppe Caccia, Venice City councilor, said the city recognizes it may take away the livelihood of birdseed vendors. He added Venice is prepared to provide compensation to affected vendors by taking into account the number of years the sellers have been engaged in bird seed retail, how large is their family and the capital involved in the enterprise.

Licensed vendors naturally oppose the plan. They insisted on being compensated or provided souvenirs to vend elsewhere in Venice, which draw millions of tourists because of its water canals.

There are about 120,000 pigeons hovering Venice, twice the number of the city's human population. Since 1997, feeding the pigeons was made a crime punishable by a fine of $726 (500 euro), except in San Marco Square.

Aside from destroying the city's landmarks with their droppings, the birds also bring with them parasites and bacteria that cause allergies and other ailments.

Meanwhile, another pro-environment measure has caught fire in the city. A Lenten resolution initiated by Fr. Gianni Fazzini, head of Venice Patriarchate's Lifestyle Center, encouraged Venetians to drink tap water instead of bottled mineral water. Plastic bottles are a major source of pollution.

The campaign has caught on as City Mayor Massimo Cacciari and Italian stage actor Marco Paolini supported it by showing up with traditional water flasks filled with tap water. Venice, like Rome, has numerous water taps that provide free, potable, cold drinking water to residents and tourists alike.

The money saved from buying bottled water will be given to a community in Thailand to build a water supply system for the village.
_________________________________________________________
Dear friend,

SAVE THE PIGEONS OF VENICE!

I am writing to ask you to help prevent a plan to starve to death many thousands of pigeons in and around Venice's St Mark's Square.

For generations, locals and tourists alike have bought food from eighteen licensed corn sellers on the Square and fed the semi-domesticated flock.

Over the years, just as in Trafalgar Square, the birds have come to depend on this food source for their survival. And, just as in Trafalgar Square, Venice's Mayor, Massimo Cacciari, is planning to outlaw the feed sellers from 1st May. Even the traditional throwing of rice at weddings at Palazzo Cavalli, the nearby registry office, will be criminalised.

With the feeding of pigeons in the areas surrounding St Mark's Square already illegal, mass starvation amongst the birds is inevitable.

Mayor Cacciari is going further. Already his officials are trapping large numbers of these trusting, semi-tame birds and breaking their necks. Incredibly, the barbarism even has the support of the Chief of Police, Marco Agostini, who described the birds as "unbearable".

Please email or write to Mayor Cacciari urgently, urging him to halt the culling and to abandon his plans to ban the sale of pigeon food.

Email: sindaco@comune.venezia.it
Postal Address:
Comune di Venezia
Ca Farsetti
San Marco 4136
Venezia
Italy

Thanks for caring.
Yours for the birds,
SAVE THE TRAFALGAR SQUARE PIGEONS

Despite Bad Rap Pennsylvania Pigeon Shoots Go On

Critics still take aim at Pa. pigeon shoots
Enthusiasts press on despite bad rap.


By Amy Worden
Inquirer Staff Writer

Find this article at: http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/20071205_Critics_still_take_aim_at_Pa__pigeon_shoots.html

PIKEVILLE, Pa. - At the cry of "Pull!" a pigeon is catapulted from a small spring-loaded metal box in the middle of a field at the Pike Township Sportsmen's Club. A shooter poised 30 yards away with a shotgun fires, sending the gray and white bird plummeting to the ground.
Over and over for two hours scores of live pigeons are launched into the air as shooters vie to kill the most birds and take home the prize money.

Some birds are killed instantly. Others land wounded, flapping helplessly on injured wings. The lucky ones escape and cluster in nearby trees and rooftops.

This is the scene at the Pike Township Sportsmen's Club, 56 miles northwest of Philadelphia, where Sunday pigeon shoots are a longtime tradition. Fewer than a half-dozen gun clubs - most of them in Berks County - still stage shoots in the state. Pennsylvania is one of two states where the events are legal, but the only one where the shoots are still being held.

Under fire from lawsuits, bad publicity and hostile legislation, the clubs operate in near secrecy. They do not advertise their shoots, nor are they open to the public. Efforts by a reporter to talk to participants at one recent pigeon shoot were rebuffed.

The Humane Society of the United States has been trying to end pigeon shoots in Pennsylvania since the mid-1980s. It has filed lawsuits on animal-cruelty allegations and pushed bills to ban the shoots in every legislative session without success.

The group argues the unregulated shoots are cruel because so many birds are slaughtered at close range and the injured suffer needlessly. The injured that fall inside the rings have their heads snapped off by ring crew members and those that fly away injured, critics say, languish in pain for hours or days before dying.

But they also contend that the shoots, like dog fights, are rife with other kinds of illegal activity occurring across multiple states in the region: trapping birds in New York City, transporting animals across state lines, tax fraud and gambling.

"Animal cruelty alone should be enough to shut down this practice, but there are many other compelling reasons as well," said Heidi Prescott, vice president for the Humane Society. "Our intelligence about the sordid and secretive pigeon-shoot circuit highlights the similarity to dogfighting and cockfighting in terms of the extent of gambling and illegal animal trafficking."
Officials at three gun clubs contacted by The Inquirer did not return calls seeking comment. An official reached at the Strausstown Gun Club, where pigeon shoots are held seven times a year, said he was not involved.

"I don't approve of them, but I don't condemn them," said Tom Leary, vice president of the club.

Don Bailey of Strausstown, who organizes shoots and provides pigeons at the Strausstown club and elsewhere, said he viewed the events as an effective way to get rid of vermin. "We kill pigeons," said Bailey. "What do you think they do when they poison birds in Philadelphia?"

Monitoring the Action

From her perch a few hundred yards away from the shooting rings, humane officer Johnna Seeton has a clear view of the action.
The retired teacher stands on a public road, dutifully recording on paper and with a video camera the license plates of participants, the numbers of birds used, and how the injured birds are treated before they are destroyed.
This has been Seeton's weekend routine for 20 years.
"I guess I'm obsessed," she said. "But I figure if I have the documentation, no one can say it's hearsay."

After each round, a flock of teenagers, called "trappers," is dispatched with sacks to pick up the injured and dead birds. They disappear into a small lean-to. Typically, the injured birds are disposed of by breaking their necks or ripping their heads off.

Seeton goes out to comb the countryside to try to rescue the wounded the next day. She has brought scores of badly injured birds to vets, where most are euthanized.

"I feel like I'm cleaning up their mess," Seeton said of the shoot organizers.

Bailey claims he picks up birds from the perimeter of the rings and disposes of them. Birds that go farther afield are "taken care of by hawks," he said.

Pigeon shoots have been held in Pennsylvania since before the Civil War. It was a notorious Schuylkill County shoot that put pigeon shooting on the national radar in the 1980s. The annual fund-raiser in the town of Hegins drew as many as 10,000 people to its Roman circus-like atmosphere.

Animal-welfare advocates set up triage tents for the wounded birds. In 1993, mounted state troopers wielding tear gas arrested 114 protesters.

In 1999, amid a court battle with an animal-rights group, the shoot was canceled by its organizers.

"Most people now think the shoots are over," Seeton said.

But they continue to be held almost every weekend from September through February in other Pennsylvania clubs. At least 22 shoots were held in the last year, according to a schedule assembled by the Humane Society.

It's unclear exactly where the pigeons come from.

The pigeon broker and shoot organizer Bailey told a New York Times reporter in 2004 that he paid farm boys to collect pigeons from barns, but that he had heard of people taking birds from the streets of Philadelphia and New York.

The Humane Society alleges a large number continue to be brought in from New York City, where residents have reported witnessing people throwing nets over pigeons and whisking them away in vehicles.

With the clubs on the defensive, access to their shoots has become limited.

At the Pike Township club, where roughly 20 shooters showed up on a recent Sunday morning, a cluster of participants turned their backs on a reporter trying to ask questions.

Participants pay high fees - at Strausstown they start at $270, plus $7 for practice pigeons - for purses as small as $20. At the big events, winners can take home as much as $4,000. But the Humane Society's Prescott believes those purses represent a fraction of the real stakes - tens of thousands of dollars wagered under the table - at some events.

Leary, of the Strausstown club, said that the shoots' attraction was "gambling pure and simple."

Is It Hunting?

Many hunters say pigeon shoots are cruel and not a legitimate form of hunting. Game Commission officials say that leaving behind a wounded animal violates the state game law.
The commission has not taken a position on the shoots or gotten involved because pigeons are not classified as wildlife, said spokesman Jerry Feaser.

But he said the pigeon shoots are "not what we would classify as fair-chase hunting."
David Kozloff, a Wyomissing lawyer who is representing the Pike Township club in a suit filed by Seeton, said he didn't see the difference between pigeon shoots and hunting in the field.
"Isn't the end result the same?" he said.

Sen. Patrick Browne (R., Lehigh), the sponsor of the latest version of the pigeon shoot bill, is still confident he has the support to pass the bill. (A companion bill has been introduced in the House.)

"I think in terms of the issue of a balance between the hunters and the cruelty to animals, this is something that breaches that," Browne said. "Traditional sportsmen find it offensive, and a large majority of Pennsylvanians agree."

Contact staff writer Amy Worden at 717-783-2584 or aworden@phillynews.com

Reference: Humane Society of Berks County

Rally & Press Conference - November 30, 2007

November 29, 2007
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly presented the councilman with a plastic pigeon and a tongue-in cheek certificate of appreciation applauding his fight against the birds. ( see right)

November 30, 2007, 2:55 pm
Rally Protests Proposed Ban on Feeding Pigeons

By Jennifer 8. Lee
Pigeon supporters at City Hall today.
(Photo: Jennifer 8. Lee/The New York Times - see left

First they came for the pigeons. Then what next? Sparrows? Squirrels?

That was the rallying cry of the about two dozen pigeon proponents who staged a noontime protest in front of City Hall today criticizing Councilman Simcha Felder’s proposed legislation to ban pigeon feeding.

They carried signs with slogans like “Give pigeons their peace and “Have you known anybody killed by a pigeon?”

The pigeon proponents passionately defended the feral bird’s right to co-exist with humans in the city, holding it up as a symbol of nature in the urban wilderness.“We are voices for the wildlife in New York City that we would like to preserve,” said Naomi Semeiak, a demonstrator also works on banning horse carriages because it is an “evil industry.”

The demonstration was organized by People for Pigeons — a grass-roots coalition of the New York City Wildlife Alliance, the Urban Wildlife Coalition, the New York Bird Club, the Greenwich Village Pigeon Club and others — which has taken an ardent stand on protecting pigeons. The group has written a rebuttal [pdf] of Councilman Felder’s report [pdf], assembled talking points and compiled a list of names of animal welfare and government officials to lobby.

Pigeon paraphernalia was available in abundance.

Jackie Mock, 21, founder of the Greenwich Village Pigeon Club, had silk-screened a number of shirts playing off the famed Milton Glaser logo: I (HEART) NY (PIGEON).

“We love underappreciated things,” said Anna Millholland, 20, another Greenwich Village Pigeon Club member who was carrying a sign with a picture of Charles Darwin with a pigeon superimposed standing on his head.

“The pigeon for us is the symbol of the underappreciated,” Ms. Millholland said.
Among their littany of pro-pigeon arguments: pigeons are not a health threat, they played an important role during World War II (”They have sacrificed their lives for humans,” one demonstrator said), that pigeons counterbalance the city’s rat population, and they teach the city’s children an appreciation for living creatures.

While demonstrators had hoped to feed some pigeons during the protest as a mark of solidarity, City Hall was determinedly a pigeon-free zone on Friday afternoon.

(Perhaps the pigeons were wary of Councilman Felder and City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn’s feelings toward them? But a police officer in the security booth observed, “We see more squirrels.”)

Councilman Felder is not anti-pigeon, said Eric Kuo, his spokesman, who was at the rally.
“We like pigeons,” Mr. Kuo said.

The report detailed many proposals in dealing with the burgeoning population, but only made one proposal, banning the feeding. Feeding the pigeons is actually bad for them, Mr. Kuo said, citing the support from PETA and the ASPCA for the proposed ban.

Mr. Kuo eyed the I (HEART) NY (PIGEON) shirts that were being sold for $5 apiece, but he was leery of the demonstrators at first. He believed they might harbor antipathy toward members of Councilman Felder’s office.

In the end, he bought the shirt, later writing by instant message: “I think it’s going to be my new favorite shirt.”

http://gothamist.com/2007/12/01/word_to_the_bir.php

December 1, 2007
Some People Love Pigeons, Others Just Don't

After City Council member Simcha Felder announced he would propose legislation to ban feeding pigeons, bird lovers joined forces and, yesterday, held a rally at City Hall. Armed with posters like "Save Our Right to Feed Wildlife," "Have U Known Anybody Killed by a Pigeon?", "Pigeons are Beautiful Birds," and "Felder's Pigeon Bill is Poop!", the pro-pigeon protesters spoke out for their feathered friends. One demonstrator told City Room, "We are voices for the wildlife in New York City that we would like to preserve."

Felder's reasoning for a stop on pigeon feeding is that pigeon poop - an estimated 25 pounds over a year - damages city infrastructure and suggested the city needs a pigeon czar to deal with the issue. And he's not the only one with the bird on the brain: City Council member James Oddo had suggested pigeon birth control (approved by PETA and the Humane Society), after pigeon poop created gross conditions at the St. George ferry terminal. City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Mayor Bloomberg also seem to support a ban on pigeon feeding. This week, Felder was the subject of a New Yorker Talk of the Town piece, where he told Ben McGrath:
"Yesterday, I was having lunch in City Hall Park with a colleague, and this squirrel comes over, literally up to my feet, and he stands up,” Felder said. “I’m eating a bar of chocolate. I said, ‘What, are you kidding? You’re with them?’ It ran away, but five minutes later dozens of pigeons, like something out of some spook movie, show up, and they’re all over the place. I said, ‘Get a camera!’"

Of course, Felder isn't immune to teasing. The other day, during a community breakfast in Borough Park, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly gave him a plastic bird and a certificate which was, Kelly read, "in recognition of your dedicated work to protect the city from an imminent quality of life danger...Overfed pigeons pose a threat to the safety and well-being of every New Yorker. We are grateful for your leadership and courage in raising awareness of this issue." Kelly was joking. We think.

People for Pigeons is the umbrella group organizing smaller bird clubs; here's their website.

Bird lovers protest proposed bill to ban the feeding of pigeons
BY FRANK LOMBARDI
DAILY NEWS CITY HALL BUREAU
Saturday, December 1st 2007, 4:00 AM

Protests are common on the steps of City Hall, but the one held Friday was strictly for the birds.
Several dozen bird lovers and animal-rights advocates rallied to protest a proposed City Council bill to ban the feeding of pigeons, with offenses punishable by $1,000 fines.

Several participants carried signs denouncing Councilman Simcha Felder (D-Brooklyn) for proposing the bill. One stated: "Felder's Pigeon Bill is Poop!"

"We're not just a bunch of crazy pigeon people," said Johanna Clearfield of the Urban Wildlife Coalition.

What's next after you get rid of the pigeons, she posed.

Carol Moon of the Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, N.Y., said feeding pigeons is a way "to teach children that having compassion for animals is just one part of having compassion for everyone."
Eric Kuo, a spokesman for Felder, commented, "Do they love pigeons, or do they just love feeding pigeons? We are looking for a humane way to address the overpopulation of pigeons."

12/06/2007
Felder ruffles feathers with ban - Animal advocates peck at councilman

Park Slope Courier

By Gary Buiso

A local pol is using the beleaguered wings of pigeons to give flight to his political career, urban wildlife advocates chirped at a rally last week. On the steps of City Hall, activists wielding pro-pigeon placards decried the controversial series of proposals by City Councilmember Simcha Felder to curb the city’s pigeon population. Felder’s legislation, which has not yet been drafted, includes a ban on feeding pigeons—a galling measure that hit bird-lovers right in the gizzard.

“He is able to use this to bolster his very tenuous political career,” said Johanna Clearfield of the Urban Wildlife Coalition, an event co-sponsor. “He sees this issue as a way to get mass attention and to garner what is already the existing hostility [against pigeons].”

“The city is not an indoor lobby. We need to ask ourselves how we can relate to our urban environment,” she said. Felder spokesperson Eric Kuo insisted his boss is has no beef with squab. “He doesn’t hate pigeons or want to harm pigeons,” Kuo said. “He just thinks there are too many pigeons, and I think a lot of New Yorkers [agree].”

Felder, who plans to introduce the legislation in the next few weeks, has suggested a $1,000 fine on those who feed pigeons. At press time, he was not made available for comment. In his report, “Curbing the Pigeon Conundrum,” Felder details the hazards created by pigeon droppings, including the degradation of steel structures.

His report concedes that health threats posed by the birds are often “exaggerated.” Possible pigeon control tactics could be the trial use of avian birth control; fostering hawk and falcon populations (they eat pigeons); and the creation of a Pigeon Czar, to “categorically address the pigeon population issue as a whole.”

Kuo said animal experts agree that there is an unhealthy overpopulation of pigeons. He pointed to groups like the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals (ASPCA), as key backers of parts of the legislation. “Providing food for pigeons not only causes an influx of birds to the area, but can also attract unwanted rodents and insects as well, thereby contaminating an area in a very short amount of time,” the ASPCA said in a statement. “Councilman Felder’s proposal is one that will ensure the pigeons will not be encouraged to reproduce by otherwise well-meaning citizens.”

“While we appreciate these creatures as part of our regional landscape, we also acknowledge that it is important to maintain their population so that they do not impede the health and sanctity of our city,” according to the ASPCA. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has reportedly said it supports the feeding ban if it were to included a controlled-feeding program that would administer a population-curbing contraceptive. While not prohibited by regulation, the city’s Department of Health discourages pigeon feeding, as uneaten food can attract vermin. According to the agency, pigeons do not pose a health risk to the general public. Kuo said Felder did not propose the ban to attract a spotlight on himself.

“If getting publicity will be able to address a problem that affects New Yorkers, than that is something we are happy to do,” Kuo said. “He has always done what he thinks is best for new Yorkers,” he continued. “By doing that, if New Yorkers support him in his career—that’s great.” The Borough Park lawmaker is term-limited out of office in 2009.

The organizer of the Nov. 30 rally was Anna Dove of the New York Bird Club, and at least a dozen other local advocacy groups, now represented by an umbrella organization, the newly formed City Wildlife Alliance.

Pigeon advocates said the birds add to the richness of the urban environment, and should not be legislated to starvation. Moreover, if the city’s infrastructure is rotting, money should be spent to rebuild it, rather than blame the birds, according to Clearfield. The rally, she said, transcended the pigeon. “Pigeons do not exist in a vacuum. What’s next? Are we going to start targeting crows? Or sea gulls?

Where does it end?” Still, Clearfield said, pigeons, which were first brought to North America by European settlers, deserve more consideration. “It is human tampering and manipulation that brought them here. We, as a race are more responsible to pigeons than almost any animal,” she stated. “The have co-existed with New Yorkers for hundreds of years and now suddenly, they are public enemy number one?” Clearfield wondered.

“There is no credible threat.”

1010 Wins

Open Letter to Councilman Simcha Felder

November 29, 2007

City Council Member Simcha Felder
4424 16th Avenue
New York 11204

Dear Councilman Felder,

I am one of your Jewish neighbors in Philadelphia, PA, who spends a lot of time in New York. As such, I have heard about your pigeon issues and I would like to respectfully provide my comments.

Surely you are aware that one of the most important tenets of Judaism is kindness to animals, and in fact, the primary principle behind the treatment of animals in Jewish law is preventing the suffering of living creatures - tza'ar ba'alei chayim. I, therefore, find it disturbing and surprising that you have such an intense dislike of a harmless bird to the extent that you have forgotten our teachings and are proposing a rather exorbitant fee ($1,000 ???!) for feeding pigeons and have made numerous derogatory comments about the species.

One of my earliest and fondest childhood memories is of being with my father in Atlantic City, going into the Planters Peanuts shop with him and buying peanuts, which he crushed into small pieces, and feeding the pigeons with him. He entertained me by calling the pigeons by peoples’ names (“Hello Molly”, “How’s the family, Sammy”, etc.). I thought my father the most wondrous of all human beings – why, he actually knew the names of these birds! I learned kindness and respect to animals through my father in this way. While I am not opposed to reasonable consideration on feeding pigeons (people need to be respectful to neighbors and the environment and not create a problem, etc.), I think your fine is excessive and I also think it is rather heavy-handed. Worse, it removes an opportunity for grandparents, parents and children to interact with nature; our children are increasingly removed from the natural world today and are losing the knowledge of how to co-exist with nature. Our solution today to living with a variety of species is to kill them all when they become inconvenient. This is just wrong.

This brings me to my main point. We, of all people, who were treated as something less than human by the Nazis in concentration camps, should NEVER posit a similar opinion about one of God’s creations – that a pigeon deserves contempt while a robin, for instance, is okay. Does this not make us exactly like the people who tried to exterminate us? Your comments regarding foie gras and your insensitivity to the intense suffering of ducks and geese were equally unkind. Kindness and mercy are among the defining traits of the Jewish people and we are taught that anyone who shows kindness to animals demonstrates that he is descended from Abraham. Your actions and statements are contrary to this.

I think you need to do some little research about pigeons (and, for that matter, foie gras). They have never caused any disease (despite the best efforts of researchers to pin something on them, no proof has ever been found; they are no dirtier than any other wild bird; in fact, they do not get bird flu), they are exemplary parents, they are benign, harmless, rather friendly, never bite; expert navigators, they have saved countless lives in World Wars I and II, serving as message carriers (read up on a French pigeon named “Cher Ami”) and they are part of the dove family. Where would Noah have been without them? What is a city without pigeons? I cannot even imagine St. Marks Square or New York without these urban symbols.

If you want to blame filth and dirt problems somewhere, try humans. It is our species that creates garbage, disease and unsanitary conditions and is destroying this planet, not the pigeons. I have seen people miserable enough to deliberately run pigeons over with their cars and poison them. You tell me which species is better.

In the Bible, those who care for animals are heroes, while those who hunt animals are villains. Jacob, Moses and King David were all shepherds, people who cared for animals (Gen. 30, Ex. 31, I Sam. 17). The Talmud specifically states that Moses was chosen for his mission because of his skill in caring for animals. "The Holy One, Blessed Be He, said 'Since you are merciful to the flock of a human being, you shall be the shepherd of My flock, Israel.'" Likewise, Rebecca was chosen as a wife for Isaac because of her kindness to animals. When Abraham's servant asked for water for himself, she volunteered to water his camels as well, and thereby proved herself a worthy wife (Gen. 24).

On the other hand, the two hunters in the Bible, Nimrod and Esau, are both depicted as villains. The Talmud tells the story of a great rabbi, Judah Ha-Nasi, who was punished with years of pain because he was insensitive to the fear of a calf being led to slaughter.

I sincerely hope that you will open your mind and re-think the pigeon situation. Perhaps more importantly, re-think your attitude toward ALL animals and remember that we are the Chosen People because we are the role models for the world. As such, we must demonstrate a higher ethic, the highest of which is kindness and compassion to all living things.

Very truly yours,

Arlene B. Steinberg
Philadelphia, PA 19115
____________________________________
The Talmud tells us that the great sage, Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, the compiler of the Mishna (the basic framework of the Talmud), was punished for an incident here he was insufficiently caring for an animal, and he was only relieved from his punishment when he showed mercy on some kittens.

There is a story told in the book Charedim by Rabbi Elazar Ezkari (d. 1600) About the Arizal - Rabbi Yitzchak Ashkenazi--the famous mystic of Tzefas, Israel--who was a contemporary of Rabbi Ezkari (who also lived in Tzefas). The Arizal once looked at the face of a certain Torah scholar and told him, "Your face is marked by the sin of causing pain to animals." The scholar was very disturbed. He investigated the matter and discovered that his wife did not feed their chickens in the morning but instead allowed them to wander through the yard and street to peck for food. He instructed his wife to prepare for them a mixture of bran-flour and water every morning. Shortly after he had done this he met the Arizal again and the Arizal informed him, without knowing about what he had done, that the sin was gone.

Protest Planned for Pigeon Feeding Ban Proposal - Friday, November 30th

Protest Planned for Pigeon Feeding Ban Proposal
http://www.1010wins.com/Protest-Planned-for-Pigeon-Feeding-Ban-Proposal/1269475

NEW YORK (AP) -- Pigeon partisans are blasting back at a New York City councilman's proposal to ban feeding the ubiquitous birds.The New York Bird Club and others plan to demonstrate this afternoon in front of City Hall. They say pigeons are peaceful, gentle creatures. And they note that the birds served as flying messengers for American and allied forces in World Wars I and II. But Councilman Simcha Felder sees pigeons as pests. He says they excrete an average 25 pounds of droppings each year, and those droppings can rust steel and corrode infrastructure.Felder is proposing a $1,000 fine for feeding the birds, among other measures to try to trim the city's pigeon population.

http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=1&aid=76085
Bird lovers are planning to flock to City Hall today to protest a proposal to outlaw pigeon feeding. The New York Bird Club and others say the birds are peaceful, gentle creatures. They also note the birds have even served their country as flying messengers for American forces during the first and second world wars. Councilman Simcha Felder says pigeon droppings can rust steel and corrode infrastructure. Felder is proposing a $1,000 fine for feeding the birds, as well as other measures to trim the city's pigeon population.

Where: Steps of City Hall, New York, NY Located within the small City Hall Park in lower Manhattan between Broadway, Park Row and Chambers Street.
Transportation:
Subway: 4,5,6 to Brooklyn Bridge - City Hall; R,W,N,R to City Hall; A,C,J,M,2,3 to Chambers Street.

When: Friday, November 30th at noon to 1.

The New York Bird Club and animal rights groups will hold a press conference and demonstration outside the steps of City Hall on November 30th from noon to 1 pm in opposition to Councilman Simcha Felder proposal to issue a fine of $1,000 to anyone caught feeding a pigeon.

reference: Councilman Felder's proposal

We feel the proposal is frivolous, inaccurate and lacking in merit, and is it coincidence that the proposal emerges at a time when there is new construction of high rise apartment buildings almost everywhere in Manhattan.

The proposal cites:

1. Overfeeding which encourages pigeon reproduction.
The Wild Bird Fund who rehabilitate the majority of injured wildlife (pigeons) estimate that there are approximately a dozen people in the metro area who feed pigeons regularly. When you consider there are approximately 9,000,000 million people living in NYC, this is an insignificant amount. There are no facts to support and it is erroneous to state, that wildlife will multiply solely according to their food supply; other factors such as safety, habitat and well being must be present as well, which are surely lacking in the pigeons' existence. Everyday they are faced with predators and danger such as being baited and netted, poisoned, maimed, and trapped both legally and illegally; not to mention being shooed away and regarded as garbage by the average ignorant person, and hawks released into the City for the sole purpose of killing them.

2. Disease.
See proposal: cases of civilians contracting diseases from pigeons or pigeon droppings are rare and the threat is often exaggerated.

3. Infrastructural damage to building.
Proposal is erroneous (see Minneapolis, Minnesota bridge). It was later established that the bridge did not collapse due to pigeon excrement.
CNN report: "In 2005, the 40-year-old bridge had been rated as "structurally deficient" and possibly in need of replacement, according to a federal database. The span rated 50 on a scale of 120 for structural stability in that review, White House press secretary Tony Snow said."
There have been no major incidents of infrastructural damage to buildings in New York City.

Pigeons co-exist peacefully in our city with people, are not predatory in nature and when feeling safe, will come to you and gently and gratefully accept a morsel of nourishment from your hand. Pigeons are gentle, sweet benign creatures who have helped us in wars and saved lives, and it is ethically and morally wrong to treat our fellow inhabitants this way. By enacting the proposal, the message to children -- who are New York City's future, is loud and clear, DO NOT CARE FOR WILDLIFE, DO NOT FEED WILDLIFE. Even if a child wants to interact with any wildlife, he/she will be reprimanded from doing so because wildlife is insignificant, unworthy of respect and a fine will be issued. Children will grow up to become callous and insensitive adults since pigeons will not be the only wildlife who will be affected by new legislation should it come to pass, because one will not feed a squirrel, sparrow or duck for fear a pigeon may join the flock.

Councilman Felder has responded to the outcry of pigeon advocates by saying that those who like pigeons should take them into our homes. I suggest the Councilman read up on NYC law since it is against the law to bring a pigeon into your dwelling, and pigeons are feral wildlife and should be treated as such.

The repurcussions of taking away New Yorkers' right to feed a bird should we choose to do so, is that other inhumane and meaningless legislation may follow, designed only to generate income for the City without regard to its wildlife, nature or it's people. The proposed plan is senseless and cruel, and the people respectfully ask that it not be permitted to pass into our law.

Please attend to rally and show your support in opposition to the proposal.

Subject of a Picture Not Taken

From Tales and Tails of New York:

It was a peaceful, but questionable and in some ways, disquieting Thanksgiving.

The weather in NYC was unusually warm yesterday with temperatures in the 60's.

I headed out to Central Park with Tina and Baby around 11AM and was surprised by the seemingly thousands of people already taking advantage of the beautiful fall day in the park.

I had a goal to take some pictures of pigeons, as they have become a subject of discussion in recent days.

But, to my great surprise, there were few pigeons to actually be seen!

The dogs and I had already walked around the bridal path (which no longer contains horses) surrounding the Jackie Onassia Reservoir before we saw any pigeons at all!

The pigeons flew in a few small flocks near the Great Lawn. And though a few birds occasionally descented towards the grass to seek tidbits or take a sip of water, as soon as I tried to get a little close with my camera, they immediately took off.

I was not able to get any pictures of the few pigeons I saw.

I don't recall NYC pigeons ever appearing to be so fearful of people before!

What presumably should or would have been an easy task on any day or year of the past, yesterday, was impossible.

Have pigeons wised up to one City Councilman's (and the ASPCA's) plan to rid NYC of pigeons through proposed legislation?

Have those guys who have been "netting" pigeons around the city, (and who I reported to the ASPCA without results) succeeded in killing a good part of our natural, urban wildlife? Or, has NYC itself, already embarked on some kind of "extermination" of pigeons without telling its citizens?

I don't know.

Usually, I take the dogs to the park in the evenings when sightings of pigeons or squirrels would not be expected.

Occasionally, in the evenings, one sees a raccoon scurrying up a tree. It is easy and always lovely to see the ducks swimming peacefully in the waters of the Reservoir. This is actually my very favorite sight in all of NYC. -- the Central Park ducks.

But, yesterday, I couldn't help wondering about the pigeons?

I recalled how, in the early 70's my husband and I would take bags of bread and peanuts to Central Park and within minutes, have hundreds of pigeons flying close to us for treats and dozens of squirrels scurrying up for the nuts. The more courageous (or hungry) pigeons would even take bread from our hands!

It would have been so easy to get pigeon pictures, then.

Today, we would be arrested for doing the exact, same thing.

It all sadly reminds me of the old, Joni Mitchell hit, "Big, Yellow Taxi:"

"Don't it always go to show, that you don't know what you've got till its gone?"

Pigeons aren't gone from the park, but they are certainly in much lower numbers now than they used to be.

Most significantly though, pigeons are now, seemingly, very afraid of and avoiding of people -- unfortunately, for good reason.

Pigeons are thus, the subject of this entry, but a picture, never taken. -- PCA

Pigeon-Rights Groups Rush to Defend Their Feathered Friends

November 17, 2007
The New York Times

Pigeon-Rights Groups Rush to Defend Their Feathered Friends

By PETER DUFFY

When Councilman Simcha Felder, a Democrat from Brooklyn, announced on Monday that he was going to introduce legislation that would make feeding pigeons an offense punishable by a fine, he made plain his feelings about “rats with wings,” a phrase used by a parks commissioner, Thomas P. F. Hoving, in the 1960s and popularized by Woody Allen in his 1980 film “Stardust Memories.”

At City Hall the next day, the Council speaker, Christine C. Quinn, who was careful not to express an opinion on Mr. Felder’s proposal, chimed in that she, too, had no love of pigeons and had no use for what she considered “flying rats.”

The pigeon backlash has now begun.

About a dozen or so of the city’s leading pigeon advocates gathered for an emergency meeting on Wednesday night on the second floor of a Starbucks on the Upper East Side to plan a counteroffensive.

The meeting was called by Anna Dove, the founder and president of the New York Bird Club, which claims 60 members and is one of the two leading pigeon-rights groups in the city. Ms. Dove legally changed her last name from Kugelmas in honor of her dove, Lucy.

Al Streit, director of Pigeon People, a rescue and advocacy group that claims 200 members in its online discussion group, was also there, as were representatives from the New York City Pigeon Rescue Center, Win Animal Rights and other pro-pigeon organizations.

“Don’t people realize that this is an extraordinary bird?” asked Mary Beyerbach, a member of the New York Bird Club, who noted the heroics of Cher Ami, a homing pigeon who is credited with saving 194 American lives in France during World War I, earning him the Croix de Guerre. “A pigeon has never attacked a person,” she said. “A rat has.”

Unlike some animal rights groups, which favor humane methods of reducing the pigeon population, these activists are opposed to any governmental intervention into the lives of what they say are unjustly maligned creatures.

Ms. Dove called Mr. Felder’s plan “more scapegoating of pigeons,” with the intention of eliminating them from the city altogether. Colin Jerolmack, who was also at the meeting, characterized the idea as another attempt to “criminalize behavior in the public space.” Mr. Streit noted that the pigeon had few defenders. “Is there a reason to control this species?” he said. “The answer is no.”

In a report released this week, Councilman Felder, beyond seeking to ban pigeon feeding, called for the introduction of pigeon-scaring hawks and falcons, an increase in the frequency of litter pickup in enclosed trash cans, use of pigeon birth control methods and the appointment of a pigeon czar who would coordinate the city’s response to the abundant pigeon population.
The report said that an excess of pigeons created an excess of pigeon excrement, which some people blame for damaging infrastructure and carrying communicable diseases.

But pigeon advocates scoffed at the suggestion that pigeon excrement was sickening humans or harming bridges and roads. In fact, Mr. Felder’s report concedes that “cases of civilians contracting diseases from pigeons or pigeon droppings are rare and the threat is often exaggerated.” And the report quotes a pigeon-control expert who called reports of infrastructure damage caused by pigeons “widely exaggerated.”

Another expert, Andrew D. Blechman, author of “Pigeons: The Fascinating Saga of the World’s Most Revered and Reviled Bird,” said, “Pigeons don’t carry any more disease than you or I do.”
Still, groups like People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals recognize the need to curb the pigeon population, which according to some estimates now tops one million in New York City.

Michael McGraw, a spokesman for PETA, said that the organization would support a feeding ban if it included a controlled-feeding program that would administer a contraceptive called OvoControl, which is one of Mr. Felder’s recommendations. PETA has supported a similar program in Los Angeles.

The A.S.P.C.A., which also supports administering pigeon birth control, is in favor of a ban on pigeon feeding, said Stephen Musso, the A.S.P.C.A.’s chief of operations. “There’s no reason to feed these birds, because they are quite resourceful,” he said.

Councilman Felder denied harboring any antipigeon animus. “I think people are pretty smart,” he said. “People in New York are pretty shrewd. They know what’s a problem and what’s not a problem. And if there is something we can do, even to improve it somewhat, that is a good thing.” He said that he had received “overwhelming support” from fellow council members.
Mr. Felder said he expected his proposal, which he plans to introduce next month, to include a feeding ban punishable by a $1,000 fine. In the meantime, ardent pigeon advocates are preparing to take their message to the public. They are organizing a demonstration on the steps of City Hall on Nov. 30.

During the meeting at Starbucks, the group discussed what to say in a planned informational flier, wondered how much it would cost to produce a banner and debated the best way to sway the public. Toward the end of the meeting, Ms. Dove asked the group, “How about having someone dress up in a pigeon costume?”

Reference: Councilman Felder's Report