Robots to control pigeon population?

"Spending $50,000 to get rid of a problem that is a health hazard and is disgusting is a small price to pay"

Health hazard? What makes him think he is getting rid of a problem???? Who tood this jerk this is a good idea? All that is being done is the pidgeons are being moved out of their area and into others! Find another idea or leave nature alone

Pidgeons make a mess everywhere. Streets, parks, playgrounds. Get rid of them -- and lock up all the old German woman who insist on dumping bags of breadcrumbs and seeds on street corners to make sure dozens of pigeons stay on the corner to foul it up.

Can these pigeons control the Duggar population as well?

If so, send one out there!!!

50k buys alot of poison too. But we can't hurt the flying rats, can we?

I knew it - robots ARE going to be taking over!

could they make a flying pig and fly it over Bradford.

I understand that birds are a problem since they make a mess everywhere they go but are they really a $50,000 problem. There are other things that money can definitely be used for, maybe fix NY train stations, get construction going faster in Ground Zero, fix all the potholes in the city...and those are just a few from the top of my head. It is ridiculous that this is actually being considered.

This is ridiculous. All we need is legislation that levies a a fine for EXCESSIVE feeding of pigeons.
Councilman Felder wants to appoint a "pigeon czar"? Another bureaucratic position, tax dollars down the drain. There are so many more important ways to spend our tax money, and this is not one of them.

Sarah Connor unavailable for comment....

A sharp shooter and a gun. Problem solved.

That will be $50,000, plesae.

Don't scare away or poison a potential food source -- kill and eat it!

Jeanne wrote:

This is ridiculous. All we need is legislation that levies a a fine for EXCESSIVE feeding of pigeons.
Councilman Felder wants to appoint a "pigeon czar"? Another bureaucratic position, tax dollars down the drain. There are so many more important ways to spend our tax money, and this is not one of them.

Pigeon Czar? Where do I apply? Is it a union position?

Gosh, city folk are dumber than dumb when it comes to nature.

The robots will do a great job for a couple of years, or until the pigeons learn the the "falcons' are not a threat at all. And, they will learn that, faster than you think.

Of course, when the pigeons come into contact with a real falcon, they will take no evasive action. That is 'humane'?

And where do you think the pigeons who do leave are going to go? Do you really believe they will fly away to, perhaps, Nevada?

No, they will fly about two miles away and set up shop in your neighborhood.

This is no more 'humane', and much less effective, than buying a rifle and shooting them. And that will not cost you $50,000.

But, the program makes people 'feel good',and that is what this is all about.

NYC probably has a bird brain that could be the pidgeon czar.

The article today on the cover of AM New York,'One for the Birds: Could robotic hawks solve the city's problem?,' is wrong to say there is a pigeon problem.

Pigeons are birds like any other and actually safer (they can't give bird flu or west Nile virus to people, while they are as safe as sparrows otherwise). It's poultry that get bird flu. In addition, pigeons eat food in daytime that otherwise rats would get during the night.

Pigeons are loved by thousands of New Yorkers, who rescue, treat, and release them when needed. There's a movement to give respect back to pigeons started by Pigeon People 5 years ago.

The only concession you give to the truth is your reference to the NYC Health Dept.'s repeated statements that pigeons are not public health risks. That should have been your headline. But you omitted information that the reporter, Ryan Chatelain learned when he interviewed me. Pigeon People is the only organization that has opposes population control and has for years.

Instead, knowing that, since the 1950s, you can count on people's dislike of pigeons, your article claims a 'pigeon problem' that doesn't exist.

Pigeons and people have been close for more that 6000 years, and people liked them until the 50s. Has something changed? It did - a false and spurious claim of danger to health was made, and the belief stuck. With no chance to learn the truth from the press, people naturally kept the belief. However, the people who had made it up were not authorities in public health or biology. We can now relearn: It's okay to appreciate pigeons.

Pigeons happen to live in cities. When people try to keep them off buildings, they can do so in simple, effective, cheap ways. It's good to know that they don't do it in a cartoon-like way, flying robotic hawks around. They poison them or use other slow, painful methods. And they don't even need an alibi, because society's assumption lets them get away with it. But it's not a joke - let's not give excuses to those few people who are cruel to animals.

Al Streit
Director
Pigeon People

I think it's a waste of money.

How about some sort of birth control we can feed the pidgeons?

Are pidgeons good to eat? We could serve them in school lunches....

Pigeons are just rats w/wings and should be treated like the (ariborne) vermin they are: poison, traps, etc.