By CAMERON LUCADOU-WELLS
PIGEONS and their droppings have got shoppers and traders at a Doveton shopping strip in a flutter.
Regulars at the Autumn Place shopping strip say a flock of about 30 pigeons perch on power lines above car parking spaces, imperilling anyone who parks or walks below.
Some say that the birds are attracted by people who regularly feed them bread and seed near the pedestrian crossing.
A man feeds “half-a-bucket of wheat” to the pigeons on afternoons, one shopper said.
The pavement and car space beneath their perch is stained with the birds’ guano.
The Weekly saw a number of cars and public seats that had also copped aerial bombardments.
Newsagent Steve Saunders said cars were being damaged as a result.
“What can you do when customers come and feed them? The whole pavement is plastered with it. If you park near them, you get plastered.”
A nearby bakery has been blamed for selling bread to customers who scatter it as pigeon food.
A Casey Council officer visited the bakery while investigating a complaint in March.
A worker at the bakery said they told the council they had no control over what customers did with their bread. “Customers come in and buy our bread. But what can we do then?”
Casey’s community safety manager Caroline Bell said the council officer found there was “no evidence of an excessive amount of pigeons or pigeon faeces in the area”.
“The council is encouraging residents not to leave food in public places as this may attract rodents and other disease-harbouring pests, creating a risk to the health and the safety of others.”
