After both sides of the opinion spectrum on pigeon culling, courtesy of Balzan Mayor Ian Spiteri and ornithologist Dr Natalino Fenech, the Director General of Rural Development Dr Mario Spiteri spoke to The Malta Independent on Sunday about the issue. Dr Spiteri said that the only reason why the Balzan culling has caused such uproar was because it was done at the wrong time of the day.
After it was announced that Balzan was to carry out pigeon culling by using airgun rifles last week, a media frenzy in terms of heated online debate led to two very clear positions on the issue. Dr Fenech had instantly hit out at the practice calling it an ineffective show put on by local councils; Mr Spiteri defended the need for a culling and after considering alternatives, shooting them was considered the best way.
Dr Spiteri spoke to this newsroom to clear the air on a number of misconceptions regarding culling but pointed out that the practice cannot possibly be banned and, although shooting might seem extreme, it could potentially be one of the only real solutions. Using ‘net guns’ is also an option, but the pigeons would still need to be put to sleep after being caught.
“Other measures like stealing their eggs aren’t practical at all,” Dr Spiteri explained, “imagine if the birds nest in church steeples. Who is going to go up there just to steal some eggs or replace them with plastic ones? And do we expect the pigeons to stay put, rather than just flying off to somewhere else to nest? So this solution is definitely impractical, maybe it happened abroad but here it doesn’t make sense. In terms of using sonar devices to keep the pigeons away from particular areas, they do work but will affect all domestic animals as well.
“The way that people are projecting culling as people running around with assault rifles is utter nonsense. Airguns were used, which are entirely legal and licensed and have limited power which is enough to kill a pigeon under police supervision. This kind of culling happens on farms on an almost weekly basis. I agree that it shouldn’t happen when there are children around in case there are some sensitivity issues, but we can’t go to the other extreme where pests like rats, pigeons and cockroaches are protected as well.”
Dr Fenech had initially reacted to the announcement on Facebook by pointing out a number of diseases which cats harbour and are equally potentially deadly, but Dr Spiteri went the extra mile, explaining exactly what diseases carried by pigeons could do to cattle.
“There is a disease among cows called leucosis, a leukemic illness which cows get from pigeons. Now if there are people who think pigeons are cute and keep on feeding them, they will be creating a reservoir of infection. Pigeons live in inhabited areas because it’s safe, but they still eat their main course at the feed mills where food for farm animals is prepared. This will result in the feed being infected and transmitted to the animals, and eventually to people.”
This newsroom then asked specifically about feral cats, which are known to carry diseases such as ringworm and other parasites. Dr Spiteri explained that the cat colonies we have around the island are usually cared for and strictly monitored by designated feeders, apart from being neutered for the most part. “There is absolutely no way one can compare feral cats to feral pigeons,” he explained.
“Cats are also very close to humans, second only to dogs. Many times these feral cats trust the feeders and nobody else can have direct contact with them. Sometimes, if there are certain doubts about health issues, the cats are caught and taken to vets for treatment for ringworm, for example. There’s also the point that cats don’t eat farm animal feed with the possibility of contaminating it. You literally need to pick the cat up and handle it to risk being infected by anything it carries.”
Apart from the risk which these airborne pests pose to cattle, Dr Spiteri also pointed out that there have been cases of severe health issues to humans proved to be from contact with pigeons which cannot be ignored. There are risks even in domestic pigeon breeding, let alone when it comes to feral ones.
“There have been cases in Malta where people have been directly infected by pigeons, even on rare occasions when they are the ones breeding the pigeons. In fact it is common practise not to let children near pigeon coops because of the potential of inhaling particles in the air released after pigeon droppings dry. A relatively healthy adult would just cough and complain about stuffiness in the air and be done with it, but it might lead to other issues in children who have not yet built up a solid immunity.
“And this is in a place with the healthiest birds, just imagine with the feral ones. There was also a particular hospital where the elderly who used to enjoy putting food on the window sills to see the pigeons ended up with skin diseases. When you families complained and they were told that, despite repeated warnings, the patients insisted on continuing to feed the birds. There has also been a very rare case of permanent disfigurement as a result of encephalitis.” This is an inflammation of the brain cause by infection or an allergic reaction in extreme cases.
In the name of public health, the choice between upholding feral birds’ rights and doing everything to protect the public seems like a no-brainer, but there are a number of people who disagree. “I disagree with extremists because for some people the animal comes first, second and third in terms of priority.
“Their problem is that they personify animals and give them human status which is something which we should never do. I think it’s unfathomable to even speak about finding pleasure in animal cruelty, but the priority should always be public health. Otherwise we will revert back to the law of the jungle; there could be hidden agendas and veiled personal attacks, which I fear might have been the case in Hal Balzan.”
In fact, attempts made by this newsroom to get any comment from Parliamentary Secretary in charge of Animal Welfare Roderick Galdes were thwarted from the start. This newspaper was told that the secretariat would not comment on the issue as it was decided that public health by far supersedes animal welfare, particularly in this case.
A number of pigeon sympathisers have suggested that the birds be caught and moved to other locations but this, according to Dr Spiteri, is not an option either. “If anyone thinks that you can just catch a group of pigeons and move them, they are mistaken. Even if you take the pigeons to Sicily, they will be right back where they were caught in a few hours or so due to their impeccable homing skills. These systems need to be complemented by putting them to sleep in a humane way.”
So this newsroom asked for more specificity in terms of how the birds are put down “in a humane way”. Dr Spiteri explained that a gas would be administered to the captured pigeons and the birds merely fall asleep and then die with minimal to no suffering.
The Director General once again addressed the fact that, regardless of the way in which the culling occurs, there will always be dissenters who will criticise every attempt to control the situation, which might be rather hypocritical at times.
“Of course, we are forgetting one crucial thing as well if we are to shine a spotlight on killing animals. Mass killing happens about four times a week at the abattoir in Marsa where they kill pigs, cows, lamb and others. Obviously there are people who also want to stop this from happening and decide never to eat meat again, but a large number of people who grumble about culling won’t hesitate tucking into a rare steak and hardly leaving a morsel. This is the hypocrisy of man.”
As a final point of discussion, Dr Fenech’s graphic photo of a rotting pigeon carcass in an air vent following a culling published in this paper last week was also addressed by Dr Spiteri. He admitted that there is a risk of what Dr Fenech implied, by all means, however there is an even more gruesome alternative if the situation is left as is.
“What Natalino said is true, no doubt about it, but it is also true and potentially more possible to have contaminated water tanks due to pigeons falling in while guzzling water after the lids fly off. This happens mostly in areas with shared roofs. Essentially, the lid will probably fly off due to poor maintenance when the weather is bad and, come summer, pigeons which drink by snorting water through their nostrils, guzzle a little too fervently and end up feeling dizzy, falling in and drown, then rotting in the water.
“There have been a very high number of food poisoning cases which are due to the propagation of contaminated water and, in some areas one can almost guarantee that the cause is a neglected water tank. There are a number of people who would notice that the lid of their tank has been blown away, but the majority of people don’t notice or don’t care because it is a shared source.”
In an appeal to the public, Dr Spiteri had one more thing to say about the root of the issue, “As a result of overpopulation, even the pigeons’ health is poor since they have to compete for the little food that there is available. If people take it on themselves to be the saviours and feed them anyway, then they are indirectly condemning the birds to death because they have to be culled.”