Tuesday, December 7, 2010

The Amazing Flying Rat


I hate birds! And for those who know me, you know I hate the pigeon more than any other bird. This hatred stems from a traumatic childhood experience, and to this day I have a hatred and fear of pigeons, which extends to all birds. I don’t see any difference between the pigeon and the rat; expect the pigeon can fly, making them worse than rats. Now that I’ve stated my bias, I have to throw this thought out there. I can not fathom why anybody feeds wild pigeons!

I have seen many people in Boston, New York, and other areas feeding wild pigeons on the street. I see people typically feeding bread crumbs, but in some instances other food, to pigeons. I’m trying to understand why someone would buy food and feed it to a wild animal, especially an animal that is dirty and carries disease. I see the activity of buying bread, standing outside, and throwing the food around equivalent to buying a bag of chips, and then standing in my alley and throwing them towards are a group of rats. If I fed rats, most people would call me crazy because I would be supporting a population of a dirty, disease carrying pest. So, why do people view the act of feeding pigeons differently?

Pigeons are dirty, smell bad, and carry disease. If you don’t believe me, read this. Plus, no one can dispute that pigeons shit all over the place.

So why would anyone want to encourage and support a population of disease ridden, shit taking, disgusting animals? What does one gain by standing outside and throwing bread crumbs or food to pigeons? This action of feeding the birds causes the birds to flock to where the food is thrown, fight over the food, and then fly overhead, at which time you run the risk of one of them shitting on you. The best case scenario of feeding a pigeon is you don’t get shit on. The worst case, a pigeon flies on you, you get a terrible disease and die.

Unless you’re crazy, you should not feed pigeons. If someone is genuinely crazy it may be understandable that they would feed pigeons, if they are not able to reason. But, if you are not crazy, and have the ability to reason, there is no rational justification one can provide to feeding pigeons. If you’re not concerned about the disease the birds carry, think about the rest of us who are concerned.

I’m employing all of you who read this blog to spread the word… Stop feeding the fucking pigeons!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Do you ever have nightmares about the traumatic incident that sparked your fear of pigeons?

Joe Grossberg said...

"Those seagulls are dirty animals, Max. All they do is SIT and SHIT!"

What was the experience?

And, for the record, Mike Tyson and Marlo Stanfield both love pigeons, so they have street cred.

Joe Grossberg said...

Er, rather, what was the incident?

When you were babysitting your neighbor's pigeons and they escaped?

popsrick said...

Guess my christmas present idea is out the window

Anonymous said...

Pigeons are very intelligent. They are able to understand abstract ideas. For example, if taught to peck at pictures of water, they are able to understand that water in a river, lake, a bird bath, or frozen into ice are all forms of water. Stop being such a pussy and go pet a pigeon. Give it a cupcake.

gretchenmahn said...

I have no idea why that last came up as anonymous

Evan said...

Walt: No on the nightmares. But, I get freaked out when they are flying around me as you know.

Joeydidit: Yeah, it is from feeding my neighbors pigeons. I also fell in the coup and they flocked on me because I spilled food. It was terrible!

Gretch: I’m not talking about their intelligence. I’m sure they are very intelligent, as our rats. If you click on the link I provided, it talks about the disease they carry. It is not of a lack of intelligence that I object to, it is their filthiness. My objection is to feeding pigeons because of they are pests. Here is another link about all the possible disease that pigeon shit carries. The problem with feeding pigeons is that they become reliant on that food source and populate in areas where that source is available. They inevitably shit! Their shit carries disease as referred to above and people can be negatively impacted by it. Since you seem to be pro-feeding the pigeons, please enlighten me what pleasure is derived from feeding them that would counter the possible risks involved.