City Hall nets 193 pigeons in these areas

Daily Express

3 days ago

Published on: Tuesday, June 24, 2025
Published on: Tue, Jun 24, 2025
By: Sidney Skinner Text Size: City Hall netting the pigeons in this public space at Inanam town. CITY Hall has netted a total of 193 pigeons from public places at locations ranging from Telipok to Tanjung Aru so far this year, as part of an effort to control the population of these birds within its rating-area. A spokeswoman for the agency's Environmental Health Department said 11 staff with its Animal Control Unit (ACU) were involved in the operation to nab the pigeons at Tanjung Aru, Inanam and Telipok towns, as well as at the Double Six Monument in Sembulan and Lintasan Deasoka area in the City. She said this exercise was partly carried out in response to seven separate public complaints which it received about these birds. 'Thirty pigeons were caught in January, 15 in February, 55 in March, 58 in April, 30 in May and five in June,' she said. 'The most number of these birds were trapped in the Lintasan Deasoka area of the City (75), while the least were snared at the Double Six Monument (five).' She said two separate checks were made at the former.
Advertisement 'The additional effort at Lintasan Deasoka was made during the launch of City Hall's 'Bandaraya Sihat, Komuniti Sejahtera (A Healthy City, A Better Community)' campaign on April 26. 'Some 500 flyers, prohibiting the feeding of pigeons, were handed out to members of the public on that day, including those who happened to be dining at the food and eating premises in the vicinity of Lintasan Deasoka.' She said a signboard on the same subject was also put up in this public space as part of the campaign which ends on Wednesday. She said the signboard highlighted the negative impact of throwing pieces of bread and other food remnants to the birds. 'The size of the pigeon population which gathered at Lintasan Deasoka would surely witness a sharp increase because of the feeders 'The presence of the bird droppings would mar the cleanliness of the area and give rise to the public health concerns.' 'The signboard makes mention of several transmissible diseases involving pigeons including Histoplasmosis, Candidiasis, Cryptococcosis, Salmonellosis and E Coli,' she explained. According to Medical News Today, Histoplasmosis was a respiratory disease that could be fatal and resulted from a fungus growing in dried bird droppings. 'Candidiasis is a yeast or fungus infection spread by pigeons,' the website stated. 'The disease affects the skin, the mouth, the respiratory system, the intestines and the urogenital tract, especially the vagina. It is a growing problem for women, causing itching, pain and discharge. 'Cryptococcosis is caused by yeast found in the intestinal tract of pigeons. The illness often begins as a pulmonary disease and may later affect the central nervous system. Since attics, cupolas, ledges, schools, offices, warehouses, mills, barns, park buildings, signs, etc. are typical roosting and nesting sites, the fungus is apt to found in these areas. 'Salmonellosis often occurs as 'food poisoning' and can be traced to pigeons and sparrows. The disease bacteria are found in bird droppings; dust from droppings can be sucked through ventilators and air conditioners, contaminating food and cooking surfaces in restaurants, homes and food processing plants.' In the case of E Coli, the website pointed out that Cows carried E Coli 0157:H7. 'When birds peck on cow manure, the E Coli go right through the birds and their droppings can land on or in a food or water supply.' The spokeswoman said ACU staff had personally had a word with some pigeon feeders around the State Capital, including two at Lintasan Deasoka, after identifying the parties which were doing this regularly. 'They were briefed on the negative consequences of their actions and warned that they could be penalised if they persisted throwing food to the birds.' She said a compound of up to RM500 could be imposed on them under City Hall's Anti-Litter By-Laws 1984 (Amendment 2005) for contributing to circumstances where the public areas were soiled by the bird droppings. Besides cracking down on feeders, the authority also frowns on eatery-owners who allow pigeons to gather in front or to hop into their premises. 'Two proprietors in Jalan Gaya were notified about this last year,' she said. One was apparently found to be throwing the crumbs and remnants from his/ her 'kuih (homemade treats)' onto the five-foot way outside his/ her shop, according to her. 'This was attracting flocks of pigeons to the pavement. The other was leaving breadcrumbs on the floor of his/ her eatery which drew in the birds inside.' Besides being served with a notice, copies of this document were also pasted to one part of the wall and the table-tops inside the second food-operator's shop. 'We wanted to discourage his/ her customers from following the owner's example and feeding the pigeons. 'The first owner was asked to get his/ her staff to clean up the pavement and chase away any pigeons which gathered in the common area in front of his/ her premises.' Both proprietors were given a grace-period to make good on these instructions. 'ACU staff noted that both individuals complied with our requirements during the follow-up inspection. No pigeons were observed to be flocking to these areas and no bird droppings were spotted in the public spaces nearby.' * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available.
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