News / St Mary Redcliffe Church
Petition hopes to protect pigeons at St Mary Redcliffe Church
Almost one thousand people have signed a petition hoping to protect the pigeons at St Mary Redcliffe Church.
The petition was started by Ellie Cotton after church leaders were given permission by a judge to give electric shocks to the birds.
Electric surfaces will administer electric shocks to pigeons, who have been leaving such a mess that churchgoers have been slipping on the floor.
is needed now More than ever
“The issue here is that although the electric devices being installed will not injure or kill the pigeons, there are longer term ramifications for the safety of the flock which are far more devastating,” wrote Ellie.
“Pigeons have amazing navigational skills and their homing instincts often surpass anything else.
“The place a pigeon is born is often the place where they will live themselves and raise pigeon offspring. So it’s very likely that the St Mary Redcliffe Church flock are descendants of pigeons that have lived there for hundreds of years.
“If the church goes ahead in installing these deterrents, it will displace an entire flock of birds which will potentially result in the deaths of many pigeons.
“Additionally, it is currently breeding season for pigeons so the likelihood of there being pigeon babies coming in to the world on St Mary Redcliffe Church is high.
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Read more: 500 years of tradition at St Mary Redcliffe
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“Growing up Christian myself, I was taught the importance of spring and how we must cherish the world and all of its creatures.”
Ellie’s petition hopes to find an ethical solution to the church’s pigeon problem.
The ruling at a specially convened Church of England Diocese Consistory Court was passed by barrister Justin Gau, acting as a judge in matters of the church.
Gau said the idea was to give the birds “a small but disconcerting electric shock”.
In his ruling, he said: “This shock is sufficient to make the pigeons leave the areas that they have landed on and, importantly, persuades them not to return.”
Main photo by Martin Booth
Read more: 14 things you probably didn’t know about St Mary Redcliffe Church
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