Trafalgar Square Pigeons Plan Prompts Flap
L O N D O N, Oct. 20 -- They’ve kept Admiral Lord Nelson company upon his pillar in Trafalgar Square for generations.
They are almost as famous as their cooing cousins in Venice’s San Marco Square.
Feeding them as they perch upon one’s head or shoulder has become a tradition for children and tourists alike, but the pigeons of Trafalgar have run foul of London authorities who say they must go.
London’s new mayor, Ken Livingstone has declared war on the Trafalgar Square pigeons.
Claiming the flock has taken over the square and become a menace to the human population, Livingstone has sworn to rid Trafalgar of an “unsanitary nuisance.”
“People come from around the world to be crapped on by pigeons,” said Mayor Livingstone, “We are getting rid of the man who sells the pigeon feed.”
Not surprisingly, in a country full of animal lovers and bird-watchers, those words have created quite a flap.
The man who sells the pigeon feed, Bernard Raynor is a third-generation Trafalgar Square pigeon feeder. His family has sold corn kernel pigeon feed under Nelson’s watchful eye since 1946.
“It’s heritage, you know,” says Raynor, “Like my father, and his uncle before him. Like the bird woman in Mary Poppins, you know.”
Banning the Birdman
Despite public outcry, Raynor lost his vendor’s license two weeks ago and was escorted off the square by city police. He says not only has the city taken away his livelihood, it’s planning the cruelest of deaths for his feathered friends.
“It’s culling by starvation,” says Raynor, “The pigeons are dependent on me. Same as my family, they’ve been here for generations, born and bred. They are used to being fed.”
Animal rights activists have joined the fray. PETA, (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has sponsored a number of protests against the mayor and launched a ‘save the pigeons’ campaign called “Crap on Ken.”
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