# thumbs down to scottish parliament!!!!



## tuxedobaby (Sep 9, 2008)

hi folks, just read in local paper that the parliament has a "pigeon problem" and may be bringing in hawks and falcons 3 to 4 times weekly to "scare"the birds away,i have been to parliament a few times(live near edinburgh) and the pigeons are a joy,very friendly birds and there are really NOT that many,the only place with a good concentration of ferals is the bridge near abbeyhill!!!!i will try and find out more,,,looks like another petition and e mails will be done soon!!!


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## tuxedobaby (Sep 9, 2008)

Tuesday, 16th December 2008 Change Date 
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Sign InRegisterHawks and falcons set to scare away pigeons at Scottish Parliament


RUFFLED FEATHERS: Using birds of prey at Holyrood was previously thought ‘not appropriate’

« Previous « PreviousNext » Next »View GalleryADVERTISEMENTPublished Date: 16 December 2008 
By Ian Swanson
PLANS to hire hawks or falcons to scare pigeons away from the Scottish Parliament building were today condemned as "wholly irresponsible". Experts said the latest attempt by Holyrood bosses to tackle the parliament's pigeon plague would simply shift the problem to other people's properties.

And they cast doubt on whether the parliament would be able to fulfil its promise that the birds of prey would only frighten the pigeons rather than kill them.

Parliament bosses have confirmed they want to bring in a falconry service on a four-year contract – costing £13,000 for the first year – after previous measures failed to deal with the pigeon menace.

In the past financial year, the parliament has spent nearly £11,000 to protect the building from birds, on top of a £35,000 contract for pest control.

Using birds of prey, first considered as long ago as 2000, has always been rejected previously as "not appropriate".

However, now the parliament plans to bring in a hawk three or four times a week. It says the hawks would be well fed and would therefore not attack the pigeons, simply scare them off.

i say they should have thought twice about this,its not fair and im not convinced that the hawks and falcons would simply "scare" the pigeons!!!!


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## Reti (Jul 20, 2003)

The haws and falcons won't just scare them, they will eat them too. How sad. They did that here in downtown Miami, now we have only hawks and no other birds left.

Reti


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## tuxedobaby (Sep 9, 2008)

i have just sent an e mail to the scottish parliament voicing my concerns about this, people seem to think its funny that pigeons may be killed,a few are in support of the pigeons but most are making a joke out of it>Im planning to go personally to the parliament the next time im in Edinburgh(im a student in Edinburgh but off for christmas break).I realise the area is of architectural importance etc but to be honest,any time i have been to the parliament buildings i have seen NO evidence of extensive pigeon mess or visitors being pestered etc,the birds congregate on a bridge, where they nest which has been a "pigeon area" since as long as I can remember,If anyone else on PT is in scotland PLEASE e mail scottish parliament reg this,its not fair on these beautiful gentle birds!


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

did they give a specific reason to want to rid the area of the pigeons?


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## tuxedobaby (Sep 9, 2008)

just the usual; mess,pest control etc (the building only came into use in early 2000s)someone suggested building a pigeon loft near the complex which seemed a better plan,but our politicians being what they are said no and decided on this hawk/falcon idea.I am in edinburgh again on sat to meet my grown up daughter (she lives in edinburgh) and ill be going along to the parilament to hand in a letter i have written(already e mailed them)


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## psychopomp (May 5, 2008)

used to live there years ago...never was a big feral problem in that city! there's a lot of over enthusiastic falconers tho..hmmmmm

a city isnt a city without a few pigeons!!


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## tuxedobaby (Sep 9, 2008)

got an e mail back from parliament stating that the hawks will not be used to kill pigeons,they will be placed at high vantage points to scare them,,,,,yeah right!


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## Ed (Sep 18, 2008)

hahahahahahah
are they going to tie the hawks to the tree limbs so they can only "scare" the pigeons and not hunt them


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## tuxedobaby (Sep 9, 2008)

StoN3d said:


> hahahahahahah
> are they going to tie the hawks to the tree limbs so they can only "scare" the pigeons and not hunt them



yeah exactly,,,they said they "will place the hawks and falcons on high vantage points on buildings,so the pigeons will be deterred from roosting but not killed" what a lot of nonsense,we all know hawks and falcons HUNT pigeons!!!,


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## tuxedobaby (Sep 9, 2008)

Despite some success in the installation of anti roosting measures at the Scottish Parliament there is still an ongoing problem with pigeons. The decision to use a falconry service has been taken as an additional means to help combat the problem. The birds we are using do not target pigeons, they are trained to settle on a suitably high vantage point and their presence alone should help displace the pigeons. We have spoken to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) who advised that provided birds are not used to harm the pigeons this approach is acceptable. They recognise pigeons are a problem and reasonable precautions have to be taken on order to control their numbers in certain locations. We have used other methods in the past, including spikes and netting (bird proofing), but the have not been as successful as we had hoped.
I hope this is helpful, but please feel free to contact us again if you have any further questions about the Scottish Parliament.

Yours sincerely 
Gareth Ireland 

an extract of the e mail i recieved from the parliament!!!! i am saddened that the RSPB who are supposed to PROTECT birds actally endorse this!


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