The answer? They all have had something to do with a decision by Wimbledon’s “All England Club” to stop killing pigeons.

Before I confuse you all to heck, let me explain:

Yesterday we had a report that the Wimbledon tennis authority – the All England Club – was engaged in using the services of army marksmen to destroy pigeons that have been inhabiting areas near the tennis grounds - you can read all this in the International Herald Tribune article here. Now, the point here (aside from the dastardly killing of those poor pigeons) is that according to the Pigeon Control Advisory Service (PiCAS)’s legal review of the Animal Welfare Act of 2006 (The Act) “a property owner must use lethal control as a last resort only if it can demonstrate, in a court of law, which non-lethal methods had been used and only if the target species presents a demonstrable risk to public health and safety.” (emphasis added)

So, sounds like it’s probably illegal bruvva! Of course, we sent a fax to the All England Club and advised the Police that we had done so, asking that this be ceased immediately and that the All England Club be prosecuted for their alleged violations of the law. We also contacted PiCAS (The Pigeon Authority) to let them know about our letter.

All geared up for a battle, we called the All England Club today (Wednesday) who actually confirmed that they will no longer be killing pigeons and will instead enlist the services of a hawk to deter the pigeons from the grounds. This is not a long term solution and it encourages the horribly violent activity of falconry (booo), BUT it will ensure that no more pigeons die at the tennis tournament, and we will be working with PiCAS and the All England Club to ensure that a sensible and ethical procedure is taken on board for the future.

Your “slightly chuffed with a happy outcome” Matt

P.S. Check out our “Fun Facts About Pigeons“

Thanks to the hard work and dedication of PETA supporter, Simone Phillips, and our campaigners, the pigeons that were trapped, starving and dehydrated in Transport for London nets have been saved – hooray!

After more than a month of palaver with TfL, they finally pulled their finger out and the poor pigeons of the hour are now at a rehabilitation centre. But under which bridge will this nasty little incident crop up next? Time to stop scapegoating pigeons methinks, and treat them like any other animal. Well done Simone, gold star for you!

Image: BestFriendsNetwork / CC

A few weeks ago, a PETA supporter contacted us to say that pigeons were trapped, dead and dying in Transport for London (TfL) nets in Tower Bridge Road. It turns out that this is happening under bridges all over London.

So our campaigners worked hard to get TfL to sort out the situation at Tower Bridge, which after countless calls and e-mail exchanges, they finally did. Yet citywide, the pigeon control program seems to have made no progress. Apparently, TfL hasn’t replied to e-mails from the Met Police and not made any commitment to solve the London problem.

Countless pigeons and their unfledged babies, called squabs are trapped and the cruelty may, according to Pigeon Control and Advisory Service (PiCAS), violate the Animal Welfare Act 2006. “If TfL responded to transportation situations the way it has dealt with these starving birds, London would be at a complete standstill”, says our Managing Director Ingrid E Newkirk. “TfL is causing untold numbers of birds to die slow, agonising deaths even though humane and workable solutions are only a phone call away.”

We’re asking them to work with the PiCAS which offers solutions for humanely controlling pigeons - within the law. I’ll let you know how it goes. In the meantime, catch a load of this and (click to view):

Letter to TfL about pigeons