Current Issues 
(Coming soon)
Current issues and ongoing campaigns
WACC has learnt of a planned cull to take place in the Left Bank mall area. The Left Bank Body Corporate (LBBC) have consulted the Wellington City Council(WCC) on permissions required to cull the pigeons in that area and the WCC have advised they are free to do so.
As we have stated in a letter today (Letter 23/6/2010 PDF 562kb) to the WCC, culling the pigeons in a localised area within the city only serves to provide increased resources for remaining pigeons in surrounding areas and will quickly cause an overall rise in the pigeon population. In addition the most common methods of culling in the past have been by shooting or poisoning, both of which have proven to be extremely inhumane and we are very concerned that one of these methods may be used.
WACC has done a survey of the Left Bank and believes that exclusion devices are the only way to solve the problems they have. Certainly there are pigeons roosting in close proximity to food outlets, however, the pigeons killed in a cull will only be quickly replaced by others. The only sure way to prevent this situation is to exclude the pigeons from those sites with some accredited bird-spikes.
This is the very situation that WACC was dreading when the council stood back and said they would do nothing in regards to pigeon control in 2008. Not only is the WCC ignoring advice by international experts on pigeon control and how to permanently solve the pigeon issue for Wellington city, but they are neglecting to advise their constituents of these options. The cost of pest control companies, restricted poisons, public notifications and sharp shooters are not cheap and because culling does not work the expense has to be outlayed repeatedly. This is an undue cost as there are more efficient and permanent ways to solve the problem. In the case of the Left Bank mall, exclusion is the only way to prevent pigeons from accumulating in the area, as it is very rarely cleaned and provides great opportunity for them to find all kinds of food.
WACC will continue this campaign to prevent a cull in the Left Bank and to have the Wellington City Council invoke a policy of 'non-lethal control first' for all pigeon control efforts city wide.
More on the Left Bank cull here
More on the Left Bank cull here
The WACC was instrumental in turning around the city council's decision to cull the city pigeons in 2008. However as the council have now decided to do nothing, this leaves a section of the community aggrieved against the number of pigeons, and the pigeons at risk from private efforts to control them.
It is proven worldwide the culling bird population's only serves to increase their numbers in the long run. We believe it is a win-win solution for the council to install non-lethal population control methods, as European cities have successfully done. This would sustainably reduce the pigeon population without resorting to annual killing sessions. More details here.
This is an ongoing passive effort to educate ourselves and the council on different ways to deal with the wild goats and pigs in the greenbelt regions. Currently every year a cull (kill) is conducted under the council's 10year pest action plan and around 500 goats and up to 10 pigs are shot annually. We are sure that similar population principles apply to mammal species and there must be a better way to solve the problem. There are other options and we will continue to research them and dissuade the council from using lethal controls.
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