Pigeons’ growing presence a nuisance; food waste, feeding add to problem

Animal welfare group Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) has alerted the authorities to pigeon culling in Hougang and said that the way it was done is a cruel act. A surprising number of readers were not so sympathetic, while others pointed the problem back to those who feed the birds or the problem of exposed food waste.

There are better ways to deal with the birds than culling them. Not the way they do. JOHNSON ONG

Complaining about cats, pigeons and what else? Stop doing this. It's so cruel. CLARENCE ZHIQIANG

Do culling complain. Don't do culling, complain. If nothing is done, it will eventually be a health hazard, especially with the dried pigeon droppings and with the birds flying, scavenging and roosting all over. CHAI MIN FOOK

I feel sad not because I'm a fan of pigeons but because some individuals' acts of self-gratification have led to this outcome — those out there who are guilty of feeding pigeons only do harm to them than good. YING LOW

In my neighbourhood, there are some people who just love to throw bread and unfinished rice out of the kitchen window to feed the pigeons. If they were not fed, these pigeons would just look for their own food, and multiply organically rather than exponentially. Now they become a nuisance, the town council workers are tasked to do this unfortunate job. ALVIN KUO

Ya, people are still feeding the birds discreetly despite notices against doing so. KATH K WONG

The problems arise because residents feed these birds irresponsibly, then leave others (town council and the Government) to use taxpayers’ money to clean up the mess by culling. Then they complain about cruelty? In some estates, it is not just pigeons, there are also some very fierce crows which shriek at passing pedestrians and fly at them. MEI LIN WONG

There was a period of time when the crows in my neighbourhood would swoop down and attack people, who have to use umbrellas to shield themselves... Crows are fierce and they are smart. They remember. Very scary. DIANA NG

It’s not the problem of people feeding those birds. Even if we don’t feed, after taking their meals, people will just leave the plates and leftovers on tables at food centres, thus inviting not only birds but flies even. KAMAL MANSOR

Why kill them just because our lives are getting better? Come on, leave them alone and don’t feed them. They will eventually find food at other places. LEE DEREK

Why don’t you go to some very bustling heartland coffee shops and see how these pigeons eat the leftovers when the cleaners are not fast enough to clear the bowls? PAMELA CHAN

Now you care for pigeons, but when epidemics strike, you would be the first to kill pigeons like how larvae and mosquitoes are killed. PETER ANDREW

When bird flu affect their family members or themselves, we’ll see if they still talk about killing or not. ALAN TUNG

Being a fairly affluent society, you would think there would be more careful and compassionate thought when dealing with this. It is time we tightened up the rules further to prevent such suffering from occurring. To quote Mahatma Gandhi, “The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated”. In Singapore, it should start with our having zero-tolerance to animal cruelty and changing our habits when it comes to bringing about a balance with nature. MANORAJ RAJATHURAI

Treat humans well first before talking about animal welfare. WENWEN LEE

The best method to control the pigeon population is to target their roosting home under viaducts and columns. Seal them off from roosting under these places. KWANGLAU KOH

This is a very intelligent and economic way of dealing with pests. I've seen some other estates wastefully hire professionals to shoot down avian pests when there are easier and more economic ways to deal with it. If this is cruel, shouldn't be all rat poisons be banned as well? TANTI RS

Won't the poison be eaten by kitties and doggies out on walks, too? BELINDA TANG

Pigeons don’t have many natural predators here. Culling is intended to balance out the ecosystem. ATMAS SHUE

Waiting for otters to be culled… they no longer have natural predators in Singapore. They breed at a fast rate. You wait and see, it's a matter of time. DESMOND TAN

Survival in Singapore is not easy. Birds also can’t survive. ERIC CHEONG

*Comments were first posted on TODAY's Facebook page and emailed to Voices. They are edited for language and clarity.