“Don’t feed the pigeons”

USA - Go ahead, carry that alcoholic beverage out onto the sidewalk with you — at 3 a.m., if you’d like. Gambling? Please do. Met the love of your life and you are in a rush to get married? No waiting period here. Oh, and enjoy the honeymoon. The Las Vegas Strip was built on fantasy. Escape from laws that make other places seems so buttondown and straight. There’s a lot to be done in this famous stretch of glitz, lights and hedonism. But whatever you do, don’t feed the pigeons. The Clark County Commission passed a law that took effect Nov. 21 stating the feeding of feral pigeons would be a crime — a misdemeanor with a potential fine of $1,000 or six months in jail. A warning is more likely for a firsttime offender, county officials said.

Clark County resident Michelle Stewart told the commission it wasn’t fair to penalize people who wanted to feed pigeons. She wore a T-shirt at the hearing that read “It’s Coo To Be Kind” and said she had fond memories of giving the birds treats with her grandparents. “I can’t imagine not being able to feed the birds,” she said. “I could be having the worst day of my life and everything come crashing down but when I get to go feed the birds, that’s something that makes my day.” Kevin McGowan, an ornithologist at Cornell University, said it’s not surprising that ordinances such at this get to people’s emotions. He said pigeons were brought to the United States as domesticated animals by early settlers from Europe and were treated like chickens and turkeys — often to be consumed. Some were trained as homing pigeons and the birds even have a history of war service as message carriers. He said there is a relationship between the birds and people that goes back a long way. “We generally like each other,” he said. But he said ordinances such as the one passed in Clark County help with the nuisance of large flocks congregating and perching on landmarks or damaging buildings with their acidic poop.

(latimes)