PETA objects to plan to poison pigeons in Hannibal

Thursday, October 18, 2012

HANNIBAL, Mo. (AP) — A plan to poison pigeons in Hannibal might not fly.

The contractor hired to set poison around downtown and civic buildings has pulled out of the plan. The city council on Tuesday voted to pay Reliable Pest Control to set out corn and then replace it with poison.

City Manager Jeff LaGarce said Wednesday he had received several complaints about the proposal. He did not explain why the contractor pulled out.

KHQA-TV reports (http://bit.ly/QwFArg ) the animal rights organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals also urged city officials to abandon its plan.

The group said in a letter to LaGarce and Mayor Roy Hark that the poison causes painful deaths. And it says there are safer ways to control the bird population without killing them.

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Information from: KHQA-TV.