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Paris hires falcons to beat pigeon plague

A Paris district is hiring five birds of prey to try and scare off gangs of pigeons whose poo is causing damage of around €150,000 a year to apartment blocks.

Published: 13 September 2017 13:30 CEST
Paris hires falcons to beat pigeon plague
AFP
Three buzzards and two falcons will swoop in for 10 days in October to try and disperse the unusually large concentration of pigeons wreaking havoc on the roofs and window ledges of social housing complexes in the 10th arrondissement.
 
The area in question is around the Rue du Buisson Saint-Louis, whose residents are fed up with the constant presence of the birds which can also carry disease.
 
“We tried traditional methods and now we are doing something more radical,” a spokesman for the town hall of the 10th arrondissement told The Local.
 
“Paris pigeons are not used to birds of prey,” he said, which the town hall hopes will make the plan a success.
 
The plan is for the buzzards and the falcons to fly high over where the pigeons like to congregate and, by striking fear into their avian hearts, force them to move elsewhere. 
 
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The company supplying the falcons also keep pigeons at bay during Roland Garros. AFP
 
So as not to frighten the human population, the raptors and their keepers will be presented at a public meeting in the local town hall on September 30th. 
 
The birds of prey will then be unleashed at a later date. The cost of the operation is €12 800, officials said.
 
Merlyn, the firm based in the Pyrenees mountains that is providing the raptors, also supplies birds of prey to keep pigeons at bay for the annual Roland Garros tennis tournament in Paris.
 
Its says its birds all have “several years of experience” in scaring off unwanted creatures.
 
“The presence of our birds of prey causes insecurity for animal nuisances of all sorts (which will) naturally seek a safer place that is without danger,” it claims on its website.

PARIS

Fluffy nuisance: Outcry as Paris sends Invalides rabbits into exile

Efforts to relocate wild rabbits that are a common sight on the lawns of the historic Invalides memorial complex have provoked criticism from animal rights groups.

Published: 14 February 2024 13:01 CET
Fluffy nuisance: Outcry as Paris sends Invalides rabbits into exile

Tourists and Parisians have long been accustomed to the sight of wild rabbits frolicking around the lawns of Les Invalides, one of the French capital’s great landmarks.

But efforts are underway to relocate the fluffy animals, accused of damaging the gardens and drains around the giant edifice that houses Napoleon’s tomb, authorities said.

Police said that several dozen bunnies had been captured since late January and relocated to the private estate of Breau in the Seine-et-Marne region outside Paris, a move that has prompted an outcry from animal rights activists.

“Two operations have taken place since 25 January,” the police prefecture told AFP.

“Twenty-four healthy rabbits were captured on each occasion and released after vaccination” in Seine-et-Marne, the prefecture said.

Six more operations are scheduled to take place in the coming weeks.

Around 300 wild rabbits live around Les Invalides, according to estimates.

“The overpopulation on the site is leading to deteriorating living conditions and health risks,” the prefecture said.

Authorities estimate the cost of restoring the site, which has been damaged by the proliferation of underground galleries and the deterioration of gardens, pipes and flora, at €366,000.

Animal rights groups denounced the operation.

The Paris Animaux Zoopolis group said the rabbits were being subjected to “intense stress” or could be killed “under the guise of relocation”.

“A number of rabbits will die during capture and potentially during transport,” said the group, accusing authorities of being “opaque” about their methods.

The animal rights group also noted that Breau was home to the headquarters of the Seine-et-Marne hunting federation.

The police prefecture insisted that the animals would not be hunted.

In 2021, authorities classified the rabbits living in Paris as a nuisance but the order was reversed following an outcry from animal groups who have been pushing for a peaceful cohabitation with the animals.

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