Trapped birds left to die

The baby birds’ parents could not get past the mesh in order to access their nests and feed them.

Representatives from local conservation organisation, FreeMe, were appalled after finding the trapped birds. They spent the morning of 13 February attempting to remove all the birds they could find within the confined spaces.

“We were contacted by shoppers at the centre who told us that all the roof openings and entrances that the pigeons used were sealed off and that some birds were left inside, while other birds were stuck outside,” said FreeMe representative, Penny Morkel.

After investigating, Morkel confirmed that there were no exit or entrance holes for the birds and contacted centre management to ask if the mesh can be removed to free the birds. According to Morkel, they were less than accommodating, showing no empathy for the lives of the trapped birds.

“Adult birds were flying into the mesh to get to their nests and many of the younger hatchlings had already starved to death,” Morkel said.

Centre management eventually ordered one of their maintenance men to put scaffolding up and removed some parts of the mesh so Morkel could reach the surviving birds and take them to a place of safety. A total of 14 birds were removed, 10 of which were surviving hatchlings.

According to Morkel, management did say they personally checked for birds before putting up the mesh and said there were none at the time. The maintenance man, however, told her they actually didn’t check beforehand, further adding to her frustration.

Lonehill Shopping Centre management is yet to respond to questions on the matter.

Share your views on this story on the Fourways Review Facebook page.