Cozy feeding the ducks on a sunny spring day, that is no longer an option since the beginning of April. Due to the increasing rat nuisance, the municipality has introduced a feed ban for birds. According to pigeon rescuer Billie Savage, this creates another problem: the city pigeons will starve. “It is our duty to maintain them.”
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‘More animal suffering’
While some people would be happy with fewer rats and fewer pigeons in the city, Savage is committed to the welfare of the animals. “The feed ban will cause more animal suffering. They will do dangerous things, such as running under a car for a piece of bread. And they are starving.”
According to Savage, many pigeons are already arriving at Stichting Stadsduiven Hulp Nederland that are starving. Ecologist at the municipality, Roy Veldhuizen, has a different view. Pigeons would never have needed extra food from humans. “Pigeons are flexible. They find their food everywhere.”
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“They eat seeds and flower buds, and can also look for their food in fields and grasslands”
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“The city pigeon has become accustomed to people and is actually a rock pigeon. They live on rocks and stones. They see the city as a large rock and are used to looking for food,” says Veldhuizen. “They eat seeds and flower buds, and can also look for their food in fields and grasslands.”
Dependent
“The behavior of pigeons has changed over time,” says Savage. “Their biology has changed, their instincts have changed. We have made them dependent on us and we have a duty to maintain them.”
Savage argues for designated feeding areas or wants the municipality to allow a maximum number of grams of seeds to be fed to birds. “If they eat everything, there is nothing left for the rats. In addition, rats do not come to eat the food in the afternoon.” But according to Veldhuizen, those feeding places are difficult to realize. “They have tried it in other cities, but it turned out to be a nuisance with poo and pigeons on balconies. In a densely populated city it’s just very difficult.”
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