What do Tennis and Army Marksmen have to do with Pigeons?

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“