you know, despite my almost unparalled hate for pigeons, i *detest* those anti-pigeon spikes, because despite my long rants about how i firmly beleive in the idea of a nationwide *bounty* on pigeons, the idea of setting up spikes designed to inflict crippling injury on them is just wrong. and its not just the spikes - there are a variety of pigeon deterrent on the market, including sticky gels (which are oftimes ingested when birds clean themselves after landing on perches coated with it, causing suffocation when the glue is swallowed), poisoned grain (that doesnt "kill", just makes the birds sick...), shocking devices, and (though not so common anymore) caustic gels.
the caustic gels and the spikes are major culprits in causing crippled birds - im sure youve all seen pigeons with club feet and things of that ilk - well, its a disease, its called clubfoot, and its basically an infection - bird gets foot injury, spends life walking around in filth... well, you get the picture. itll happen even without the gels of spikes, really, cause pigeons as a family of birds are notoriously sloppy nest-builders, and rock doves (the flying rat pigeons familiar to every city dweller) are not only crappy nest builders, but completely neglectful housekeepers who seem to relish wallowing in their own filth.
anyhoo, the idea of putting up deterrents that maim, sicken, or otherwise slowly kill pigeons is offensive to me - not so much because of the harm to the pigeons, but because a) they arent selective to pigeons - other birds are affected (the peregrine falcons that sometimes are seen in downtown sf, for instance - if they eat a pigeon with that gel crap on its feathers, they can die from ingesting it) and b) they dont cause instant death in pigeons, which is what i would really want (which has its own set of issues, of course, mainly involving things like dead pigeons falling from tall buildings and hitting pedestrians, and general dead pigeon cleanup...)
i will freely admit to attempting to destroy pigeons at any opportunity (though no, i was not the person who spread the poisoned grain over by 15th and harrison a few years back - whoever that was, your heart was in the right place, but poisoned grain isnt selective enough a killing method), but im all about the immediate death part. slow agonizing death (at least of animals, no matter how much i despise them) aint my bag.
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the caustic gels and the spikes are major culprits in causing crippled birds - im sure youve all seen pigeons with club feet and things of that ilk - well, its a disease, its called clubfoot, and its basically an infection - bird gets foot injury, spends life walking around in filth... well, you get the picture. itll happen even without the gels of spikes, really, cause pigeons as a family of birds are notoriously sloppy nest-builders, and rock doves (the flying rat pigeons familiar to every city dweller) are not only crappy nest builders, but completely neglectful housekeepers who seem to relish wallowing in their own filth.
anyhoo, the idea of putting up deterrents that maim, sicken, or otherwise slowly kill pigeons is offensive to me - not so much because of the harm to the pigeons, but because a) they arent selective to pigeons - other birds are affected (the peregrine falcons that sometimes are seen in downtown sf, for instance - if they eat a pigeon with that gel crap on its feathers, they can die from ingesting it) and b) they dont cause instant death in pigeons, which is what i would really want (which has its own set of issues, of course, mainly involving things like dead pigeons falling from tall buildings and hitting pedestrians, and general dead pigeon cleanup...)
i will freely admit to attempting to destroy pigeons at any opportunity (though no, i was not the person who spread the poisoned grain over by 15th and harrison a few years back - whoever that was, your heart was in the right place, but poisoned grain isnt selective enough a killing method), but im all about the immediate death part. slow agonizing death (at least of animals, no matter how much i despise them) aint my bag.
oh whoops. there i go ranting again...