Csaba Vass, urban development non-profit ltd. his deputy managing director said that the action plan is professionally founded. He consulted on the matter with the contractor currently carrying out pigeon removal in the city, with the condominiums, and also involved deputy mayor György Paláncz, councilor Zoltán Opauszki and municipal representative Béla Szente in the work. They visited several locations, including the most critical ones, such as the István mill, Szent István square, Szabadság square and Andrássy street.
Photo: Balázs Licska
There can be five thousand pigeons in Békéscsaba
The essence of the action plan was to provide the city leaders with a solution proposal that is forward-looking in order to normalize the pigeon situation – explained Csaba Vass, who also published the resulting action plan on his Facebook page. He added: according to the contractor, the pigeons in Békéscsaba multiplied because no significant action was taken against them in the previous 10-15-20 years. Based on preliminary estimates, there are currently 4-5 thousand pigeons in the city.
Two types of pigeons must be distinguished. On the one hand, there are homing pigeons, which typically nest on the facades of buildings; on the other hand, ringed pigeons, which are in the city from spring to autumn and settle on the leafy trees. Both cause serious problems. He emphasized: it is not only important for the people of Békéscsaba that a solution be found, since from a cityscape point of view, it does not matter what kind of image the city center presents to those who come here. Even though they clean several times a day, the sidewalks and benches are only clean for a short period of time.
More traps, more live captures are needed
It was included in the action plan that the number of traps should be expanded, and that live captures should also be made more frequent. He believes that these can be a step forward. However, it is not worth continuing to feed with food that causes infertility, as it is not possible to track which part of the herd consumes it. In the meantime, it is necessary to coordinate with the railway company, for example, so that the work in the city center can be really efficient. A third of the population may be around the railway station, because of the grain shipments, the birds also go there from the city center to feed.
According to the entrepreneur, the captured pigeons are taken far away, to places where they cannot return or find their way back. This solution works, in several cities the stock is reduced in this way – Csaba Vass continued. According to him, the implementation of the action plan does not require significantly more costs than before. He talked about: the city managers approved the action plan at a management meeting, which he thinks is favorable. He said it was important to try all the options included in the plan, and then it would be possible to achieve results.
He was brought into the management meeting
Deputy mayor György Paláncz brought the action plan to the management meeting, and he emphasized that Csaba Vass, the urban development non-profit kft., played an important role in its preparation. executive deputy. They were looking for a solution to a problem that the people of Békéscsaba encounter every day. There have been too many pigeons in the city, and they not only fly, but also poop, traces of this can be seen on sidewalks, benches, and cars parked under trees.
It is important to come up with a solution that is suitable from an animal protection point of view, but also from a public health point of view, as excrement is not only ugly, but also dangerous, he added.
He said that there are measures that are not effective enough, such as spikes, alarm systems, and artificial falcons, which pigeons get used to after a while. The action plan therefore recommended more traps and more frequent live captures. He also pointed out that the area around the railway station is considered a focal point, where the birds find food, so it is necessary to discuss the matter with the railway company.
