Pressure mounting from animal welfare campaigners over use of netting to tackle pigeon problem under rail bridge

Pressure is mounting from animal welfare campaigners for East Lothian Council to reconsider proposals to use netting to tackle a pigeon problem in Dunbar.

Public safety fears have been mounting in recent years over the birds swooping under a rail bridge in Spott Road and distracting drivers, and in many cases the birds are killed if they hit a vehicle.

Bird droppings have also been making the footpath below slippery, causing people - including parents with prams and young children - to walk out onto the road. Pigeons also carry a variety of diseases such as salmonella and campylobacter which can be transmitted to humans by their droppings.

Netting will soon be put in under the bridge to stop the animals from nesting - and work is expected to start later this month.

But John Robins, secretary and campaigns consultant for Dumbarton-based Animal Concern Ltd, has raised concerns about the impact of netting on the welfare of the birds.

In a letter to the council’s chief executive Monica Patterson, he calls for a more permanent, humane and cost effective solution using a mixture of stainless steel anti-roosting spikes and blocking using rigid metal grids, or robust chicken wire.

He said: “Within months, or at best a year of installation of the nets, you will be receiving regular complaints about pigeons and other birds trapped behind or tangled in nets which have worked loose or been damaged in bad weather.

“As happened recently at a netted bridge in Dumbarton people will not be complaining about guano on their shoes but about maggots on their heads, falling from rotten bird carcasses tangled in the netting.”

East Lothian Council wants to tackle the pigeon problem under a rail bridge in Dunbar. Pic: Google

He also pleaded for the local authority to ensure the pigeons are not trapped and are released unharmed and stressed that, even at this time of year, there will be young pigeons dependent on their mothers which may need to go to rescue centres.

The East Lothian Courier reported previously that a cull of the animals would take place before new netting was put underneath the bridge in a bid to stop the birds roosting there each night. One member of the public also suggested there could be between 300 and 400 birds nesting under the bridge every night.

Vanessa Hudson, leader of the Animal Welfare Party, told the newspaper that moves to kill the birds or install anti-bird netting are “completely out of step with the times.”

East Lothian Council’s environment spokesperson, councillor Norman Hampshire, said: “Following specialist advice, a combination of measures will be carried out to remove the birds and erect proofing methods to deter further future roosting.

“In the unlikely event that any bird becomes trapped behind the netting, one way tunnels will be installed in the netting to ensure they can exit.”

Mr Hampshire says the move follows discussion with a number of other agencies including Network Rail, Nature Scotland, Scottish SPCA and specialist pest control companies to find the most appropriate and humane way of pigeon control and prevention at the site.

He added: “The council has tried other solutions to solve this problem with limited success and has agreed to take this necessary action before any serious accident takes place at the Spott Road Bridge.”

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