NEWS

FLYING SQUAD TARGETS PIGEONS
By Dianne Smith

Enough is enough. Joburg is to use force to rid the city of foreign invaders.  And the feathers will fly.

Within the next year, 10 Peregrine Falcons are to be introduced to new skyscraper homes, to curb the increasing pigeon population.

The South African National Bird of Prey Centre (BPC), together with the Gauteng Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism and the Kwa Dukuza Hotel and Conference Centre, will set up a roost for the winged cops on the roof of the 43-storey hotel, which was the former Johannesburg Sun.

It is hoped that the falcons will breed and that other building owners will follow suit.

"It's not a quick fix," says Glodel Oertel, of the BPC, "but in time it hopefully should become an effective pest control."

"If we start here people will realise it's a natural way of doing things without impacting negatively on the environment."

"The city is overrun by pigeons which are not an indigenous species.
They cause incredible damage to buildings through nesting and corrosive droppings."

Once the project is in full swing, webcams will be set up at the nesting sites to monitor the raptors' activities and the public will be able to log onto the Internet and watch these birds of prey.