Wildlife rescuer's calls to end 'unnecessary suffering' of pigeons under Devonshire Road bridge

Mel Greenhalgh, who runs Brambles Wildlife Rescue in South Shore, visited the bridge last week after a call form a concerned member of the public.

Pigeons had been spotted underneath Devonshire Road bridge in North Shore, but some of them had been impaled on the metal spikes, or become trapped behind the wire installed to deter them from nesting there.

Mel is now calling for safer measures to be put into place to stop birds from suffering.

"I know not everybody likes pigeons, but they don't deserve to suffer," Mel said.

"There are other ways of stopping them from roosting under the bridge, flat metal panels could be put there instead. That would be much more humane.

"Last time the RSPCA was called out to rescue a bird trapped behind the netting, the fire service had to close the road.

"All that could be avoided if safer measures were put into place."

One bird had to be put to sleep because it had a broken leg, Mel added.

Any birds rescued from behind the netting could be rehabilitated by local wildlife rescuers, including Mel, and she said she would be happy to take them in.

"It's not a problem for us to take the birds in, I've dealt with loads of them and I can rehabilitate and release them," she continued.

"But I don't want to keep visiting the bridge to find more dead birds. Something needs to be put in place of the netting so they don't keep getting trapped.

"If they can't get out, they die of starvation, which is just cruel."