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| Santa Monica Set to Kill
Pigeons |
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Santa
Monica City Hall Protest:
Tuesday, August 11,
2009
1685
Main St., Santa Monica, CA
5:00
pm
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The Santa Monica City
Council is taking action to try to improve the water
quality at the local pier - by killing the
pigeons!
Although the
Council has no studies to support the hypothesis that
pigeons are the reason for poor water quality, the
Council has voted to put a net under the portion of the
pier near where the water samples are drawn to exclude
pigeons from the roosts they have used for 50 years - to
see if perhaps this might possibly improve the water
samples!
We will have a press
conference in front of Santa Monica City Hall at 5:00 pm
on Tuesday, August 11th before the City Council meets at
6:00 pm. The City Hall is located at 1685 Main St.,
Santa Monica, CA 90401. Let us know if you are coming
and tell us if you want us to make a sign for
you!
We need your help stopping this.
Please call and e-mail the committee members from now
until Tuesday night!!!
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Get the
Facts:
- There was no water quality
information incriminating the pigeons directly in the
water quality ratings. That was just a suggestion by
Heal the Bay, who needs to reverse that
suggestion.
- Pigeons have chicks year round -
nesting pigeons and babies too young to fly will
starve to death trapped behind the net. This is not
the way to run an experiment!
- It is impossible to relocate nests as
Bird Busters say they will. Babies will be killed in
the process and parents will not be able to find their
nests.
- This will not reduce the pigeon
population (if the birds are actually the cause of the
bacteria in the water). It will merely relocate them a
few yards away and the number of birds will continue
to grow.
- There is an effective and humane
solution to reduce the pigeon population - an
aggressive Ovo-Control program (like birth control for
pigeons) with 10 feeders will reduce the pigeon
population by about 50% per year.
- The net costs $107,000. The
aggressive Ovo-Control program is about $10,000
per year for the first 2 years and then becomes less
as the number of birds decreases.
- This action to disrupt and kill birds
to see if it might possibly change water quality does
not make any sense from a humane point of
view.
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Please write a letter to every councilmember to
let them know how you feel about this issue! Here is a
sample letter you can use:
Mr. Ken Genser,
Mayor
Santa Monica City Council
1685 Main Street,
Room 209
Santa Monica, CA 90401
Dear Mayor
Genser and Members of the Santa Monica City
Council,
A July 30, 2009 Los Angeles Times
article indicated that the Santa Monica City Council
voted to place netting under a section of the pier where
many pigeons roost in order "to reduce bacterial
pollution caused by pigeon droppings and other debris".
The article goes on to say that "the city teamed up with
Heal the Bay to identify the source: pigeon feces were
determined to be the likely cause". However, it appears
the Council has no studies to support the hypothesis
that pigeons roosting under the pier are the reason for
poor water quality at the pier.
The netting
process will cause destruction of the pigeon chicks that
are in their nests and too young to fly. Since pigeons
reproduce throughout the year, there is no time in which
nestlings would not be present. If attempts are made to
move nests, many chicks will fall into the water and
drown and others that may be fortunate enough to have
their nests moved successfully will starve to death
because parents will not be able to find them. It is not
feasible to rescue and care for the number of nestling
chicks that would be present at any given
time.
This action is inhumane.
As to the
overall pigeon population, itself: A fiscally
responsible and logical approach would be to reduce
their overall numbers over a 3-year period by using a
proven, effective and harmless birth control method such
as OvoControl. With a comprehensive program utilizing
enough feeders in strategic locations, the pigeon
population can be decreased by about 50% per year. In
three years, a hypothetical population of 1,000 pigeons
would be reduced to about 250 and continue to decline
each year thereafter. This program prohibits egg
hatchability and is harmless to the adults. This program
is carefully designed to prevent other kinds of birds
from feeding at the feeders and, at the same time,
insures that each female pigeon receives the minimum
effective dose.
A comprehensive program for
approximately 1,000 pigeons would require ten feeders in
ten different, strategic locations for the cost of about
$15,000 per year for the first two years. After that,
the cost of the program would drop considerably because
it is determined by the number of birds using the
feeders.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
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Your council
members are:
Mayor Pro Tempore Pam
O'Connor
Mayor Pro Tempore Pam O'Connor
has served on the Santa Monica City Council since 1994.
Her current term expires in November 2010. More
>>
Contact
Information:
1685 Main Street, Room 209, Santa
Monica, CA 90401
Message (310)458-8201
Fax
(310)458-1621
pam.oconnor@smgov.net
Richard Bloom
Councilmember Bloom
has served on the Santa Monica City Council since
1999. His current term expires in November
2012. More
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Contact
Information:
1685 Main Street, Room 209, Santa
Monica, CA 90401
Message (310)458-8201
Fax
(310)458-1621
richard.bloom@smgov.net
Gleam Davis
Councilmember Davis
was appointed to serve on the Santa Monica City Council
to finish Herb Katz's unexpired term on February 24,
2009. Her current term expires in November
2010.
Contact
Information:
1685 Main Street, Room 209, Santa
Monica, CA 90401
Message (310)458-8201
Fax
(310)458-1621
gleam.davis@smgov.net
Robert Holbrook
Councilmember Robert Holbrook has served
on the Santa Monica City Council since 1990. His
current term expires in November 2010.
Contact
Information:
760 Ermont Place, Santa Monica,
CA 90402
Home
(310)394-1094
Fax (310)393-7948
robert.holbrook@smgov.net
Kevin McKeown
Councilmember Kevin
McKeown has served on the Santa Monica City Council
since 1998. His current term expires in November
2010. More
>>
Contact
Information:
848-E 16th Street, Santa Monica,
90403
Home (310)
393-3639
Fax (310) 393-3609 home
Fax (310) 458-1621
office
kevin@mckeown.net
Bobby Shriver
Councilmember Bobby
Shriver has served on the Santa Monica City Council
since 2004. His current term expires in November
2012. More
>>
Contact
Information:
1685 Main Street, Room 209, Santa
Monica, CA 90401
Message (310)458-8201
Fax
(310)458-1621
bobby.shriver@smgov.net
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