Bird Menace
in Hawker Centres​
Bird feeding contributes to the overpopulation of birds in Singapore which increases the likelihood of birds scavenging around hawker centres.
By Cherie Hoe Yan Ting
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“Why can we kill rats but not kill birds?”
Mynahs and pigeons gathering around buckets of unwashed plates and food. A plate of leftover rice placed on the floor intentionally for the bird to eat. Photo Credits: Cherie Hoe Yan Ting
Residents disapprove of bird culling as a solution to Singapore’s growing bird population and disagreements arise when a Member of Parliament supports bird extermination.
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In a recent survey conducted this month, 78 per cent of the customers at the 163A Gangsa Road hawker centre stated that they were against the killing of birds as a solution to the issue.
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However, Mayor of North West Community Development Council (CDC), Dr Teo Ho Pin, thinks otherwise. “They are a problem, they are a pest and they are causing risks to human lives. So what else can we do as a responsible organisation?” he said.
“They’re both pests,” he said, “Why can we kill rats but not kill birds?”
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Some methods of bird culling include trapping mynahs in nets and killing them by emitting carbon dioxide gas as well as baiting pigeons with poisoned food. These methods are seen as inhumane and cruel to most residents.
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“I don’t think we should kill pigeons,” says Clive Lim Wee Se, a regular customer of the 163A Gangsa Road hawker centre. “I feel that it isn’t affecting our lives in a very big way.”
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He also said that people, specifically the elderly, have been feeding the birds which has contributed greatly to the growing bird population. He even recounted seeing some who fed the birds their leftover or expired food products.
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“There seems to be fewer birds around the area recently, possibly because fewer people are feeding the birds,” said Liang Bao Zhen, a cleaner at the hawker centre, in Mandarin. “But the birds still come quite often to source for food here and feed on people’s leftover food.”
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She said that they, as cleaners, have no entitlement to place covers on the buckets meant for food waste to reduce accessibility of the food to the birds as they were merely “following the management’s orders”.
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Birds eating leftovers and being anywhere near food that is meant for human consumption is not only unhygienic, but also unsightly.
Illustration: Cherie Hoe Yan Ting
Bird feeding increases the number of birds in the area, causing more bird droppings on the floors, walls and other objects. Research from Medical News Today states that exposure to bird droppings might cause respiratory diseases like Histoplasmosis or Salmonella which can lead to diarrhoea.
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Six hundred and eighty-two enforcement notices have even been issued in Parliament for pigeon feeding offenses in the last three years to tackle this problem.
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Animal lovers are against exterminating birds and they feel that feeding birds is a way of caring for them and enjoy doing so.
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“I won’t look at it as caring for the birds,” said Dr Teo, “They’re actually littering, you know.”
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He emphasised that people who fed the birds were dirtying the environment and attracting other pests such as rats and cockroaches to the area.
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“The birds don’t need you to feed them,” he said.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
CHERIE HOE YAN TING
Cherie’s knowledge of veganism stems from her undivided love for animals. She enjoys food photography in her free time and will put forth a great deal of effort to get things done.