So, trapping the pigeons is one thing. I wouldn’t do it myself, and maybe you wouldn’t do it for many reasons. Even if you find them to be messy, they are still living beings just trying to make it in a world that isn’t too accepting. Shoo them away, trap and release them away from your space (sort of selfishly making someone else embrace them or not) but maybe that someone isn’t cruel and twisted like this neighbor obviously is.

You see, he didn’t just trap them and remove them. This vile person had a vengeful solution which is beyond me to understand. He clearly was “mad” about the problem of dealing with the pigeons, but not “man” enough to humanely dispatch them. No, he set up a cruel scenario. He picked each pigeon up out of the trap and broke both of their wings….and yes, then he released them. (The veterinarians at Liberty were unable to fix many of them because the breaks were so erratic.)

You need to understand my approach to wildlife rehabilitation. My first rule is “no suffering.” If an animal presents that is in pain, and unable to survive, we humanely and quickly end that life. It’s just the right thing to do. And if I were boss of the world, I would have ways of dealing with those who personally impose this kind of suffering on an animal. I would not be kind to such a monster….but that isn’t for this blog. What he did out of spite or anger or selfishness or whatever the hideous reason was, ultimately sent these now-crippled birds out to a slow death of starvation, predation, and suffering….and how long would it take of this misery before the death knell tolled? That’s cruelty, with no compassion, no humanity.

And, in case you are wondering, there aren’t many legal protections for a non-native species like pigeons (except the cruelty part of the Sherriff’s Department). But you also can’t set a trap that just solely traps pigeons. And so in this case, he also trapped native birds like cardinals, doves, etc. When this was called to his attention, his response was: “collateral damage.”

My response would have been that his action was totally in violation of the law. Native birds are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and can’t be trapped or killed or otherwise harassed. “Collateral damage” isn’t an excuse acceptable to that act. It is a criminal violation.

In Blechman’s book, he relates the story of a guy who raced pigeons. He sent his favorite female pigeon out in a competition, and she unfortunately didn’t return with the others. He was devastated. Two weeks later, he heard a kerfuffle on his front porch. He looked out to see what was going on and there was his favorite female pigeon, struggling up the steps of the porch with a wing that had been broken during the race. Somehow, she was able to survive and find her way back home, apparently on foot. That wasn’t just a dumb and messy bird. That was a smart animal from a species that has been maligned by too many people for too long!

When will we stop the irrational and mean-spirited hate and discrimination? I can’t speak for all of our society, but I know we at Liberty Wildlife will continue our work. We’ll continue to take in native wildlife that are ill, injured, or orphaned. And we’ll also take in those non-native animals that are in distress. Because it is the compassionate and right thing to do.