New York Cityās solution: Reintroduce a suitable predator: There are now a fair number of falcons nesting in the man-made cliffs of the city, doing a decent job of reducing the rock dove population.
My friend was telling me how one city near LA somehow starting giving the pigeons birth control.
If you wanted to pay me minimum wage to either shoot or strangle pigeons, I guarantee itād be cheaper per dead pigeon to shoot them.
But what is a suitable predator for an old lady?
A musical interludeā¦
The more filth we discard around our cities the greater the pigeon population grows to feed upon it. Birds are the most adaptable of species, far more so than primates, including us. The only way to get rid of pigeons is to clean up our act, or learn to love them for getting rid of a good deal of our shit.
Shooting in a crowded city takes a lot of planning and care, unless you donāt mind hitting bystanders. So: Expensive.
A friend of mine used to work at a private school. The school had a groundskeeper, an ancient Vietnamese man, who lived in a house on the campus. My friend thought it was nice the man fed the local pigeons everyday. Then one day she saw him walking back toward his house with a couple of dead pigeons in his hands.
Is āa resident of the streetā a British euphemism for homeless, or does the woman actually live (in a home) around there?
It means she lives in a house on that street.
Thereās no need for a euphemism for your alternative, we just say āhomelessā.
āYou just learn to say OK to something like that.ā
Iād probably say āOKā to the lady with a fistful of dead pigeons as well.
Pigeon problem in Rose Crescent? Maybe Gardiās closed downā¦
Lemme seeā¦ flies are predated upon by spiders which are in turn caught by birds and so on up the chain with cats, dogs etc.
So if I remember my ecology correctly, the apex predator of an old lady in this case would be a horse? That doesnāt sound rightā¦
nope, either Shamu, or Sasquatch. If I have done my figuring correctly.
Seriously? Seriously, this is the news Boing Boing cares about in Cambridge?
Weāve got the Hawking the movie about arguably one of the worldās greatest Physicists, Dr Stephen āF***ingā Hawking, based in and around the great city. (He also has a moderately successful career as a gangsta rapper).
Weāve got the utterly amazing Cambridge Computer Museum, with all those home computers and arcade games that you remember from your childhood.
Weāve got more world class tech companies than you can shake a stick at, including one that just produced the worldās thinnest Bluetooth Smart keyboard.
But some old dear strangles a pigeon, a rat with wings, and that makes the news on Boing Boing!
shakes head sadly
Itās not Cambridge news, itās pigeon strangler news.
A spot of tea in a dirty cup should fix you straight!
Could someone start feeding the homeless with pigeon pies?
There, 2 problems solved. Youāre welcome.
āFeed Strangle the birds, whoāll feed strangle the birds?ā
Thatās a good point. Thereās probably minimal risk of accidentally strangling an unwary bystander.
