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Hawks won't 'beat up' Spalding's pigeon population




Concerned residents have been assured that the plan for dealing with Spalding’s long-standing pigeon poo problem is ‘definitely humane’.

Last week, members of the public spotted the first flights of a hawk brought in by the district council to tackle the trouble in the town centre.

The bird will continue to be flown around the town centre for 12 weeks - in the mornings and evenings - but the idea is to scare off pigeons and not for them to be killed by the hawk - which is being handled by a trained pest control contractor.

Coun Rodney Grocock in Spalding Town Centre with pigeons (54818857)
Coun Rodney Grocock in Spalding Town Centre with pigeons (54818857)

Coun Rodney Grocock, chairman of the Spalding town centre steering group, explained: “That wasn’t the name of the game. When it’s been done in towns before they don’t go and beat up the pigeons. Their presence means they are seen by the pigeons and they go elsewhere because they don’t want to be around a predator.

“Officers have given them a contract for 12 weeks in the mornings and late at night with a view to making the little buggers go elsewhere.

“The last thing we want to do is take a pigeon out of the air and for it to drop on the floor in front of a young child and for it to be ripped apart. That would be horrendous.

“Obviously we are dealing with predators and you can’t guarantee anything but we have an assurance that that isn’t how it works. Their presence makes the pigeons uncomfortable and go elsewhere.

He added: “Hopefully there won’t be any schoolchildren shopping at the times they are flying it and not too many people about.”

Coun Grocock says the blight of pigeon poo is having a negative impact on the town’s appearance - and taking up any time that could be spent on sprucing it up.

He said: “Outside Boots the pavement is awash with guano again. We have got another deep clean going on soon and the lads won’t get much done on that because they will be so busy doing that again.

“It’s not fair to the council and those shops to be bombarded with guano - it’s not fair to anybody. When taxpayers are paying officers to do a deep clean they don’t get as much as they would like from it.

“Who wants poop everywhere?”

Coun Grocock says that residents have encouraged the issue by feeding the pigeons - which appear to be roosting in the air vent on the BetFred shop in Hall Place - but feels the time has come to act.

Members of the public were asked for their say on two possible solutions to the issue - the hawk or the use of gel pads on the top of shops emitting a smell that would deter pigeons

The latter idea would have required the agreement of 51 different premises owners in the town centre.

Coun Grocock said: “To find the shop owners would be an absolute nightmare and would cost a lot of money - but we still wanted to give people an option. More people were for the hawk than the pads.”

The Government Welcome Back Fun is being used to help pay for the bird handler.



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