Write this letter to save 65000 pigeon lifes

The city of Barcelona is going to capture and kill 65000 feral pigeons, and spend 11800 euro on it.
Can we all write a letter to the decisionmakers, telling them this murder is unnecessary, cruel and useless?
And propose them to use humane and ethical methods to deal with the pigeon overpolulation in the Catalonian capital? like we do in France in Belgium, in the Netherlands? That city pigeon lofts have didactical value? that the pigeon feaces can be recycled as fertilizers?
The last sentence means" I will not visit Barcelona as a tourist untill this barbary ends", you can choose to add i or not.

You can copy and paste this letter and send it to all the mentionned email adresses:

consellera.salut@gencat.cat, bustiaciutada.salut@gencat.cat, bustiaciutada.salut@gencat.cat, informa.csbcn@catsalut.net, stb.salut@gencat.cat
ajuntament.respon@bcn.cat

Subject: No a la matanza de palomas


Letter:

Señora Isabel Ribas i Seix, presidenta de la Agència de Salut Pública de Barcelona y toda su Junta de gobierno:
El Ayuntamiento de Barcelona ha convocado un concurso público con el fin de matar a 64.780 palomas (el 25% de la población) en 19 meses y retirar la mayoría de huevos y nidos de gaviotas. Todo ello con un presupuesto inicial por valor de 118.750 euros y mediante el método más cruel imaginable: la captura con red y muerte mediante asfixia. Allende lo cruel, nos ofende que nos tomen por tontos publicitando dicho método como "indoloro" y "causante del mínimo estrés posible para el animal".
Teniendo en cuenta que según un amplio estudio realizado por la UB en 1998: “matando palomas en la ciudad sólo se consigue que vengan otras de fuera a reemplazarlas” y que “el número de palomas vuelve a ser el mismo tres días después de las captura", los métodos cruentos del Ayuntamiento son, como mínimo, una mala forma de acabar con el problema y una excelente medida para malgastar el dinero de los impuestos.
Me consta que han sido informados de la existencia de los palomares anticonceptivos parisienses, la mejor medida conocida para el control poblacional de palomas existente en la actualidad. En ellos se esteriliza a los animales mediante anticonceptivos administrados en el grano, sin necesidad de asfixiarlos hasta la muerte. De esta forma se crean comunidades estables en zonas concretas, descongestionando la ciudad. Además, los palomares ecológicos cumplen una función didáctica, al convertirse en zonas donde los ciudadanos acuden a observar a las aves y a alimentarlas con el grano adecuado. Incluso el excremento de paloma se aprovecha como abono para la agricultura, con el consiguiente reciclaje y máximo aprovechamiento de recursos.
Por lo tanto, me pregunto: si a pesar de tener al alcance de la mano un método más eficaz que ataca el problema de raíz, más barato, más ecológico y menos cruel, el Ajuntament lo ha desechado, ¿por qué dedican el dinero de los impuestos, a matar inútil, cruel e innecesariamente a estos animales?

Les ruego recapaciten y sigan el ejemplo de países más avanzados en cuanto a protección del medio y los animales.

Francia: http://cousin.pascal1.free.fr/histoire_pigeonnier_rp.html
Bélgica: http://www.gaia.be/fra/control.php?&topgroupname=&groupname=faits_pigeons
Paises Bajos: http://www.duivenoverlast.nl/index-english.htm

De esta forma la opinión pública de su gestión no se verá perjudicada por medidas inaceptables como la presente.
Personalmente, no visitaré Barcelona como turista mientras continue esta barbaridad.

Atentamente,

Your name
City
Country

Thank you all!
Myriam

Sent. :)
EDIT: I sent it out, but got a notification that one of the recipients had a full inbox and couldn't recieve my letter.

...it's endless...the cruelty and ignorance.

I'll d it now.
Myriam...please post a link to this thread on the Pigeon Angels FaceBook page.

So far...I have not gotten any back.

Got this one back..
ajuntament.respon@bcn.cat

and this...

stb.salut@gencat.cat

Matilda wrote:

...it's endless...the cruelity and ignorance.

I agree. :For Shame:

Sent!
When does the ignorance finally stop? Killing those birds does only result in having more birds. When do these stupid officials ask the right people?

This morning I received following email. As I cannot speak Catalan - I only understand that it is not in their competence and that someone should call the # as below....????



"Sr/Sra

Benvolgut/da ,

Us comuniquem que no podem donar tràmit al seu escrit atès que no és de la nostra competència.

Es per aquest motiu que li facilitem el telèfon de l’Ajuntament de Barcelona (àrea de Civisme) 900 226 226 per tal que contacti directament amb aquest organisme on l’informaràn del circuit vigent per posar reclamacions.

Atentament,


Direcció d’Atenció al Ciutadà

Regió Sanitària de Barcelona

Servei Català de la Salut

.../nf"

Yes that is correct, I received the same lettre twice, because I wrote twice: once in my name, onc in name of the non profit Lapalomatriste.
The first time though stb.salut@gencat.cat did not bounce back.
Servei Catala de Salut: Catalonian health department... when it comes to make nagative publicity about ilnesses pigeons are supposed to spread, I suppose they will raise their voice, but off course it is not of their competence to answer a demand for humane treatment of the pigeons

I sent the emails, but it looks like the Town Hall is bouncing them back:

This is an automatically generated Delivery Status Notification. Delivery to the following recipients failed. ajuntament.respon@bcn.cat

and with everybody else saying it's not of their competence, they're all playing deaf.

Right -- lateral thinking time!

I've found this:

http://www.ecologiaverde.com/barcelona-quiere-matar-a-sus-palomas/

Here you can post comments, but beware they're subject to moderation. I posted this:



Roughly translated, it reads:
This method is cruel and inefficient. Furthermore, the authorities refuse to engage in dialogue, saying that this matter is solely of the competence of the Ajutament, and it bounces any emails back.
As a frequent visitor to Catalunia, I am deeply disappointed and sickened by this.
There are humane solutions, if anyone is listening: (Followed by the French, Belgian and Dutch links.)

Now I'm gonna check up on Quercus -- they were the first to comment in condemnation, and they're the most powerful Portuguese environmental organisation.

Loved your note, Teresa.
Short, simple, respectful right to the point.

It's a shame they don't seem to have the intestinal fortitude to acknowledge their emails. :For Shame:

There's been more on that subject, with one poster claiming to be an animal lover, except when it comes to pigeons who, according to him, 'poop acid and destroy public buildings', blah, blah, blah, 'rats with wings'. You know how it goes...

So I replied,

Poop acid? What a lot of nonsense!
What destroys public buildings is acid rain derived from city centre pollution.
And what destroys populations of urban animals are the unsubstanciated claims of pseudoscientists.

P.S. I've had another email non-delivery notification -- the Health Service can't get any more emails because their inbox is full. GOOD! Let's keep it that way!

...Teresa!

Teresa wrote:

There's been more on that subject, with one poster claiming to be an animal lover, except when it comes to pigeons who, according to him, 'poop acid and destroy public buildings', blah, blah, blah, 'rats with wings'. You know how it goes...

So I replied,

Poop acid? What a lot of nonsense!
What destroys public buildings is acid rain derived from city centre pollution.
And what destroys populations of urban animals are the unsubstanciated claims of pseudoscientists.

P.S. I've had another email non-delivery notification -- the Health Service can't get any more emails because their inbox is full. GOOD! Let's keep it that way!

Myriam, that was a very valid point you made in reply to the poster who is 'an animal lover' but doesn't like pigeons, comparing his attitude to Hitler's...

Lovely Flight informs us that this problem is still going on, and provided a new link to sign a petition to save the pigeons' lives:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/44/stop-the-killing-of-65000-pigeons-in-barcelona

Bump up.