In Sérignan, the pigeon scaring campaign is controversial

To combat the proliferation of pigeons, the town hall hunts them down. DR

skin diseases which would be due to contact with droppings. DR

The latest pigeon scaring campaign in Sérignan is controversial. Traders asked the town hall to intervene as quickly as possible. According to an animal protection representative, Yann Geshors, "we kill animals instead of capturing them”.

Supporting photos, traders in the town of Sérignan have asked elected officials to do everything possible to stop the nuisance of pigeons who have invaded public spaces. The owner of the Bar du Center sent an illustration of what pigeon droppings can cause when it comes into regular contact with the skin of the hands. And that's not the most exciting thing. "We clean the tables all day and my son caught a skin disease on his hands because of that, she explains in a note sent to the town hall of Sérignan."< /p>

Why did the town hall intervene ?

And the town hall of Sérignan reacted. She explained that she was responding to the incessant demand for intervention from many residents of the town. "Like many towns in the south of France, Sérignan has been faced for several years with the regular increase in the pigeon population in its town center. As with rats, which are also, here as everywhere, the subject of a fierce fight, the health risks linked to this proliferation are very real." And the municipality bases itself, to explain the means of its fight against the invader, on data from the Bird Protection League (LPO). "The LPO specifies on its site that pigeons can carry different diseases, bacteria or viruses such as trichomoniasis, salmonella, or toxoplasmosis. They can also carry fleas and ticks. These risks come either from the droppings which sometimes cover the squares and streets, to the great dismay of market traders and exasperated local residents, or from the corpses of these birds which nest and die under all the roofs, barns and downtown lean-to. Several petitions were sent by angry residents."

Means of biopredation

The City of Sérignan explains what means were implemented to destroy all or part of the population of these unwanted birds. "Faced with this problem, the City has developed an arsenal of means to limit the nuisance: spikes preventing birds from landing in certain places, broadcasting of birds of prey cries in the evening on the city's sound system, shots from& rsquo;blank scaring, trapping cages with regular collection by an approved company, ultrasound gun and, more recently, on the evenings of January 22 to 26, the commune, like Béziers or Vias around us, called on three falconers competent to intervene within the framework of a health action of scaring by biopredation."

It is these falconers who would pose a problem. “In recent days, a pigeon hunting operation was in progress. Unfortunately, it takes place in total secrecy. Imagine taking your dog out at 9:30 p.m. and coming face to face with an armed man, aiming a pigeon at your window, in the dark streets, says Yann Geshors, wildlife photographer, but also a fervent defender of birds and wildlife.&amp ;nbsp;This is the reality experienced by our fellow citizens.
Concerned residents have contacted me, they are disturbed and have not been informed of these rifle shots. A secret operation, but at what cost for the peace of the residents of our city ?"

Eléanne, who doesn't live very far from the Promenade, says: " I was taking my dog ​​out in the early evening, around 6:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. and I heard an explosion. I saw a man with a gun. I admit that I was a little scared. He understood it and told me what he was doing. I would have liked to have been warned. Because it’s still impressive. I understand what they're doing, but there are less offensive ways."

A hundred birds eliminated in one evening

And the town hall responded: "This method uses birds of prey, in this case five Harris hawks, to regulate the pigeon population in a natural way. It makes it possible to fight against overpopulation and to permanently scare away the remaining population, encouraged to move far from the city center, into the countryside. The samples from the pigeons taken are used to feed the birds of prey.
A first analysis, by the falconry society, estimates that the pigeon population has been, due to harvesting and scaring, divided by two." A response that Yann&amp;amp; ;nbsp;Geshors because he believes that there are less more appropriate and that it should have been said what was happening. "We do not deny the nuisance of pigeons, but alternative solutions have been proposed and ignored. The municipality has chosen the path of discretion, but is this the best approach ? A municipal employee responsible for cleaning up the corpses and traces of blood which litter the streets of the city, was instructed not to say anything! But on Wednesday evening, no less than 162 pigeons were killed… I went to the company's website. At no time was there any # It is specified that the animals are killed, but captured. It is time to explore solutions that respect animal ethics."

For the town, the use of birds of prey, a natural predator of pigeons, is an impressive but natural method and is to date the most effective tested by the city. She plans to use it once a year.

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