Oigeons
Friday, 10 January 2003
Deal is struck on London's pigeons
[PICTURE]
2000 AP photo
The pigeon flock is estimated at 35,000 during the day. London Mayor Ken Livingstone said Thursday that he had struck a deal to allow limited feeding of pigeons in Trafalgar Square, in the heart of London.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LONDON - A modern-day Battle of Trafalgar between London's pigeon-loathing mayor and angry British bird fanciers may finally be drawing to a close.
After a two-year protest by animal rights campaigners, Mayor Ken Livingstone announced Thursday that he had struck a deal to allow limited feeding of pigeons in Trafalgar Square, in the heart of London.
''I am confident that we have found a solution that will gradually reduce the numbers of pigeons on the square without causing them any harm,'' the mayor said.
Livingstone sparked protests in 2000 when he banned the time-honored tradition of feeding the birds and evicted the square's official birdseed vendor from his kiosk.
Livingstone argued the flock, estimated at 35,000 during the day, was a health hazard and said the city paid $160,000 a year to scrub away droppings.
But campaigners argued that, far from being a nuisance, the birds draw tourists to the square, dominated by a huge column topped with a statue of war hero Adm. Horatio Nelson.
In the Battle of Trafalgar on Oct. 21, 1805, Nelson gave Britain its most glorious naval victory when he crushed the combined French and Spanish fleet without losing a single ship of his own. Nelson, however, was fatally wounded.
Under the new deal, activists have agreed to stop flinging seed around the square. Under the supervision of an independent scientist, city officials will reduce the amount of seed over a six-month period to encourage the birds to feed elsewhere.
By Gordon