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Apr24

Robofalcons

Posted at 03:53 PM | | CommentsComments (5)

Ken Livingstone.jpg
Ken the Killer

It's difficult to say exactly why London Mayor Ken Livingstone hates pigeons with such a virulent passion. Perhaps he was bitten by a pigeon as a young child, or harassed by gangs of pigeon bullies as a schoolboy, but whatever the reason for it, his "war on pigeons" is well known in London, and his various attempts to poison and starve them out of his city have earned him the nickname of "Ken 'The Killer' Livingstone." OK, whatever, I made that nickname up, but you get the point. One last little tidbit about Ken Livingstone before I get to the actual point of this post (which is robotic peregrine falcons): In 2001, when Ken the Killer was at a news conference in Washington, an animal activist made international headlines by dousing him with a pitcher of water and shouting

"Your plan to poison pigeons is all wet. Mayor Livingstone starves pigeons to death."

The majestic robofalcon
Robofalcon.jpg
You can read that story here. But despite the current anti-pigeon government in London, there's some good news on the way for the gentle rock dove. According to Reuters, the city of Liverpool has instituted a much more humane way of dealing with its pigeon population: A flock of mechanical birds has been dispatched to frighten the pigeons away from the city center and into the parks and gardens of outlying Liverpool. The so-called "Robofalcons," which resemble natural predators to the pigeon, have been placed on rooftops around Liverpool to scare the birds out of the city. Maybe when they're finished with their work in Liverpool, they can go and frighten Mr. Livingstone out of London. Good luck, Robofalcons!

P.S. There's some more information on humane pigeon control here.


Comments

Kind pigeon control is one of my favorite things. In some countries, they have instituted campaigns to educate the public about not overfeeding the birds (the ONLY way to keep their numbers down, because they breed very quickly) and they've established nesting areas. A certain number of eggs are taken from these nesting areas each year and the population stays stable.

Posted by: Canaduck | April 24, 2007 07:24 PM

it would be easier to shoot the pigeons, ten guys over a week would kill off the entire pigeon problem.

Posted by: John | April 25, 2007 12:25 AM

Hey John, why dont you post your address?

Posted by: doug | April 25, 2007 10:19 AM

Actually John, you're wrong. As soon as the pigeons were gone, new ones would come in to take their place. That's how it works.

Posted by: Canaduck | April 25, 2007 01:19 PM

How do people who have absolute no compassion, class or sense of understanding get elected anyway? I think Mr.Ken thinks poisoning pigeons is kind of a quick-fix method for the pigeon population. Its sad he doesn't realize they have a life too. Here's wishing the Robofalcons do their job well so that other pigeons may live.

Caroline


Caroline

Posted by: Caroline | April 26, 2007 07:51 AM

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TaggedTAGGED: pigeon ken livingstone robofalcon robop 

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