Time to end war on birds and find a way to coexist, say experts
It seems like the ultimate revenge: birds have been found constructing nests from the very spikes meant to deter them from perching on buildings. But while humans have no shortage of tactics to wage against unwanted birds, experts say it’s time to abandon the war.
Though there are myriad ways to deter or remove birds from city roofs, train stations and other settings – from spikes to fire gel, professional falconers and even plastic owls – it seems many lead to only a temporary reprieve.
“These kinds of bird deterrents – in most circumstances, they’re at best pointless and at worst, actively dangerous for wildlife,” said Jeff Knott, the director of policy and advocacy at the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
Knott said the emphasis should instead be on a harmonious coexistence. “We’re facing a nature and climate emergency,” he said. “And in that context, we desperately need to be finding more ways to welcome wildlife into our everyday lives wherever we live, rather than excluding it from ever greater areas.”
Dr Madeleine Goumas, an expert in herring gulls at the University of Exeter, noted that bird control techniques were not infallible, including the use of predator species.
“There is very little evidence that decoy predators or predator calls work,” she said. “Birds may show avoidance of plastic owls [for example], but this avoidance does not last long. If something is not a real threat, birds will soon habituate to it – they learn it is not to be feared.”
Goumas added that the use of falconry, as favoured in some settings, including Wimbledon, also had downsides. “Real predators can cause birds to flee, but these birds are flown for a short period of time, so the deterred birds will usually return.”
Even in situations where it was permitted to remove or kill birds – which Goumas emphasised was illegal except in very specific circumstances under licence – such interventions may not be a permanent fix as they did not prevent other birds from moving into the same area, while netting could also be problematic. “If a good-quality material is used, and the netting is wellfitted and regularly checked, it should not pose much of a problem, but there are numerous reports of birds becoming trapped and getting injured or killed in them,” she said.
While Knott and Goumas acknowledged there were certain scenarios where it was important to deter birds – such as airport runways – in many other cases it was simply a human preference because the birds were perceived as a nuisance.
“If birds defecating in a particular area is a genuine risk to health and safety, then of course prevent birds from landing there, said Goumas. “But people do tend to forget that we are supposed to share our world with wild animals such as birds, and that it is as much their habitat as it is ours, and we are giving them fewer and fewer places to go.”
Knott added: “Often what is actually happening is these birds are moving into urban areas, because we’re knackering their actual homes and the countryside.” He pointed to gulls as a classic example.
With about 45 million birds lost from UK skies in the past 50 years,
Knott said there was both a moral and legal responsibility to help wildlife recover. “We need to find ways to welcome wildlife into our everyday lives whether those be towns, cities, or indeed rural areas and help them.”
Tom Stewart, from the British Trust for Ornithology, agreed. “We shouldn’t think of birds as an enemy,” he said. “We should think of them as species that we have a responsibility to protect.”
And that, said Knott, could bring benefits for people too. “We know that people that go and spend time in nature, have access to nature [or] rich green space, tend to live longer, healthier, happier lives,.” he said.
• A picture of a bird caught in netting was changed on 14 July 2023 to better illustrate the issues in the story.