Cartoon - 11.01.17

I too like cats dogs and any other animal. But would never have a pet in the house again, just too much trouble

I draw the line at rats though - It's the time of year when they are seen in our road and gardens.

I also have an aversion to pigeons - nothing but shit machines and they crush delicate border plants.

My four feral cats kill all the mice and rats and the occasional pigeon or collared dove.

Collared doves are lovely - you need to give your pussies a good talking to.

AlanHo wrote:

Collared doves are lovely - you need to give your pussies a good talking to.

I love to see the birds in the garden, but one bird that I hate is the collard dove.  The repetitive noise that it makes is extremely irritating, and it makes an ear splitting screech as it lands.

I found this.  

There are hundreds of 'em in my area and when they all get calling it's a nightmare.

malcolm wrote:

There are hundreds of 'em in my area and when they all get calling it's a nightmare.

They sit for ages on the top of out lounge chimney.

andsome wrote:

They sit for ages on the top of out lounge chimney.

They are only waiting for you to start playing Mahler. They base all their calls on that sort of thing.

In our previous house I shot many dozens of rats and pigeons including collared doves. That was until I remarried and my wife is an animal lover with the exception of just, flies and wasps. She used to get really upset, even when I shot a rat or two and the gun had to go (for my safety! )

We are plagued by pigeons around these parts. We have the common Wood Pigeon and the common Collared Dove in gay profusion (well may be they are not all gay.)
The village is basically one road, one and a half miles long, with houses and farms up both sides, and arable farm land stretching out miles on all directions.

I have an air rifle but unfortunately it can not be used within 50yds of the  public highway. So the rotten little buggers come and sit on the top of the garage and stick their tongues out at me.

I could never kill an animal or bird or even an insect deliberately for fun, and I believe that anyone killing, except for food or in extreme conditions where there is no alternative such as infestations etc, is evil in the extreme

I am a chap who too likes wild life and have done so all my life. but there are situations which demand reviewing.
Is it reasonable to just take in your pigeon "soiled" washing and rewash it, so that you can put it out again to be recrapped on?
Is it reasonable to feed the blackbirds, robins, sparrows, finches etc. only to have them frightened off by pigeons.
Additionally, is it unreasonable to want to see out through windows that are not sullied by pigeon crap. We have now lived in this bungalow for seven years and the pigeons are a pest.

Previously we lived in a bungalow situated in the orchard of a "has been" farm (the farmer died and his wife and sons could not carry on farming). The situation there was totally different. We used to feed the birds and squirrel and some of them became almost  hand tame. One robin often used to come through the open kitchen window and bob about on  the inside window sill. Birds were nesting in the hedges and would not fly off in a panic if we just had a peep in.

I think it possible that andsome's bête noirs are  partly responsible for the derth of smaller birds in this area.

It is never 'reasonable' to kill an animal just for having the temerity to live alongside you.

Collins English Dictionary;-

  "reasonable"---sensible, suitable, logical

You have just proved my point...thank you !

About 70few years ago I had a cousin who was at college and she told me she was studying logic. I asked her what logic was and was astounded at her definition of logic. You have just given me another astonishing one.