Feed the Pigeons and You May Be a Jailbird

To many, they are the rats of the bird world--an urban nuisance and potential health hazard.

That sentiment has led officials in Los Angeles to consider expanding the city’s “Feed a Pigeon, Go to Jail” law.

For about 25 years it has been a misdemeanor to feed pigeons in a 48-block area surrounding downtown’s Pershing Square. Because of recent complaints by local businessmen, the City Council will soon consider tacking an extra block onto the bird boundary.

“We call it our ‘Feed a Pigeon, Go to Jail’ ordinance because it is a citable penalty,” said Richard McCaughey, a city legislative analyst. “To my knowledge no one has ever been prosecuted, and it’s my guess that no one has ever been cited either, because it’s hardly a high priority.”

However, McCaughey said the law has kept down the pigeon population in the area because bird feeders, once warned, usually take their bags of bread crumbs elsewhere.

Robert Rush, general manager of the city Department of Animal Regulation, said the law was passed because Pershing Square was the West Coast’s version of the Vatican in Italy--a popular hangout for thousands of pigeons who are fed by tourists.

“It was a large feeding area. It was unsightly and was causing people a great deal of distress,” Rush said.

In addition to creating aesthetic problems, he said, pigeons carry lice and mites on their bodies which can be transmitted to humans at the flick of a feather. They also build their nests out of body waste that attracts vermin.

“In the days when this was first adopted, we didn’t have super-plush buildings with air conditioning. So people would open their windows and the pigeons would sit on the window sills. Lice and mites would crawl into offices and you’ve got them,” he said.

The current problem involves the law offices of John Argue. In a letter to City Councilman Gilbert Lindsay, Argue said the pigeons have become a real problem in the area because people are standing on the street corners feeding them.

‘Dirty Nuisance’

He called them a “dirty nuisance” for the food operations in the building, including a restaurant, croissant shop and market. They are also leaving their droppings on a building that Argue said recently received a $1-million face lift.

Feeding pigeons has always been a favorite pastime of people in parks, senior citizens, children and others who are intrigued by the multicolored birds.

But Rush pointed out that the city law is necessary because of the health hazard.

“Some people make light of this, but it is a serious matter of public health and safety,” he said. “It can be a serious problem, particularly if a child comes home with lice in her head because of pigeons. That is a truly traumatic experience.”