Culling pigeons is illegal

Following the opinion piece by Ryan Farrugia entitled Cull The Pigeons. Now! (October 21) and other letters on the topic, I would like to remind the public of the following.

Mireille Vella, the chief government veterinary officer, was quoted by The Times as saying that "although care always has to be exerted, pigeons are not carriers and usually die within the hour of contracting the disease. Pigeons could act as a sentinel to indicate that the virus has arrived in Malta. If we see 50 dead pigeons, then we would know that something might be wrong. However it was important that nobody poisons pigeons in a bid to cause alarm".

It is also worthy of note that poisoning is animal cruelty and falls under the animal welfare act. Furthermore, if any action is to be taken either to control the pigeon population, or else to prevent or stop the avian flu virus, any decision may only be taken by the government's animal welfare council.

We expect the government to prosecute on animal cruelty charges any local council which takes it into its own hands to poison pigeons or other animals.

Regarding roof-top tanks with defective lids, which Dr Farrugia mentions, we trust the public is responsible enough to check that tanks are always securely covered, in the interest of their own health, irrespective of whether avian flu arrives in Malta or not.