Ramesh Menon's Clicks and Writes: Feed birds in the park, not street - Letters to the editor

Friday, November 22, 2013

Feed birds in the park, not street - Letters to the editor - The National Dt. 20 November 2013

Feed birds in the park, not street

Walking along the Istiqlal street in Abu Dhabi recently, I was shocked to see pieces of bread had been thrown on to the pavement near an advertising sign.

I realised that this was done by someone with the intention of feeding the birds, mostly pigeons, in the area.

Although feeding birds may be considered a humane act or devotional gesture, it contributes to the bird droppings all around the area, including on parked cars and the windows and balconies of nearby buildings.

The municipality is spending a huge amount of money to keep our city clean. Encouraging these birds to live in the inner-city area detracts from the environmental, ecological and aesthetic qualities of the locality.

For this reason, I think that feeding birds in the city should be discouraged. Instead, feeding areas for birds and other animals could be set up in public parks and gardens.

Ramesh Menon, Abu Dhabi