Please don’t feed the birds… at least the pigeons. Under a new law proposed to Portsmouth City Council, it would be illegal to feed stray animals and wild pigeons. It appears other wild birds are still eligible for feeding without fear of penalty. Just don’t let a ne’re do well pigeon steal their food.
Council will meet with Portsmouth City Manager Sam Sutherland on Monday to discuss the proposal. Portsmouth has long struggled with a stray animal problem.
Shelter Filled To Max
Just last week, the Scioto County Dog Shelter was filled to max capacity and stopped taking in animals. According to the shelter, there has been an epidemic of people who adopted animals for companionship during the COVID lockdown returning them, and also a flood of puppies. “These rescues are now also full. Adoptions have slowed down. A rise of the pit bull or pit bull mixes are showing up at shelters everywhere. Scioto county I thought we were better than this!! Please we are begging you at this point to please keep your pet confined to your property, buy your tags, and for the sake of your pet and every exhausted rescue out there please have your pet spayed or neutered. We love our pound dogs. I would love to see all of them go to great loving homes. We can’t do this without the help of the public.”
Fortunately, an anonymous donor stepped in to pay adoption fees at the dog shelter and Sierra’s Haven animal shelter to help reduce the population. During that time, 9 adoptions took place. We will update you if the secret donor makes another generous offer to help.
Downtown Pigeon Problem
Portsmouth City Council seems to feel that not feeding strays will reduce the problem, though many animal lovers might argue that it will simply lead to already abandoned animals starving to death and the focus should be on irresponsible owners.
So, why the crackdown on pigeons? According to a memo from Sutherland’s office, there have been complaints associated with the downtown Esplanade and they hope a ban on feeding pigeons will cut down on complaints.
It’s not clear if people would be fined if a pigeon showed up at their bird feeder and dined on the seeds intended for cardinals, blue jays, and sparrows.
Council can choose to alter the proposed law, accept it, or reject it at the City Manager’s Conference.
