Samira Fateh campaigns against ‘distressing’ pigeon culling near Adelaide’s empty GPO

Pigeons are officially classed as vermin but one CBD office worker is campaigning against culling measures she described as distressing and awful to watch.

Keith "Jim" Fellingham and Samira Fateh in Victoria Square with her signs protesting against pigeon culling. Picture: Simon Cross

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An Adelaide office worker is waging a campaign against pigeon culling in the city.

Samira Fateh, 45, of Athelstone, has put signs on trees near Victoria Square and set up a Facebook page, Pigeons Lives Matter, condemning the killing of birds roosting in nearby office buildings.

Ms Fateh, who works on Victoria Square, said her campaign was triggered by an incident in late July, when she heard shots while walking with a friend near the Adelaide GPO late on a Sunday afternoon.

“There was shooting and pigeons were falling down with blood on them,” she said.

“A man was picking up the dead birds. I got very upset and started shouting at him. It was very distressing seeing the birds suffering in pain.

“We had a big fight and the police were called. I had picked up a dead bird and the police told me to give it back as the pest controllers got paid for them.

“They told me to move on. A week later, I saw pigeons which had been poisoned, flopping about on the pavement, in pain and dying.

“It was just awful to watch.”

Ms Fateh said she rang the Adelaide City Council to complain but was told the culling was being undertaken by a pest controller for the new owner of the GPO.

The historic building has been sitting empty as it awaits redevelopment into a multistorey hotel by Sydney-based property developer Greaton Development.

The five-star $200m Westin hotel is among a dozen CBD projects in limbo because of COVID-19.

Ms Fateh said there were other options to shooting pigeons, including roosting deterrents such as wiring systems, using birds of prey, public education campaigns to stop people feeding them, nesting boxes to collect and destroy eggs and an overseas birth control system, Ovocontrol.

“Any of these methods is better than shooting and poisoning pigeons,” she said. “Pigeons’ lives matter, too.”

A concept image of the new GPO hotel, which has been put on hold because of COVID-19.

A council spokesman, Klinton Devenish, said it was not “actively” culling pigeons as they were not a declared pest.

“Council undertook some pigeon management work between April and July this year and engaged a specialist, reputable service provider to undertake the work,” he said.

“This involved trapping the pigeons over a number of weeks and humanely removing and relocating them as per requirements of council.”

Mr Devenish said the pest controller had “abided by the Cruelty to Animals Act”.

“There was no shooting or poisoning involved,’’ he said.

Mr Devenish said building owners near the area where Ms Fateh said she had heard shooting and seen dead or dying pigeons “may have engaged their own pest controllers in regards to culling pigeons which has not been notified to council”.

“It is a building owner’s responsibility to manage roosting pigeons,” he said.

An RSPCA spokeswoman said culling of pigeons could be undertaken legally, provided it was done humanely and official codes of conduct for the shooting or poisoning of birds were followed.

Originally published as Samira Fateh campaigns against ‘distressing’ pigeon culling near Adelaide’s empty GPO