Wealthy residents in Bristol have fitted trees with “anti-bird spikes” in a bid to protect their expensive cars from droppings, “outraging environmentalists,” says The Independent.
The spikes on Pembroke Road, Clifton, Bristol, were erected by the management company of nearby Bartlett Court flats to protect residents’ “expensive cars”.
Hillcrest Estate Management said the trees attract roosting pigeons and it needs to protect vehicles at the “prestigious development”.
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One resident, confirmed to The Independent that the spikes were “solely to to protect cars” - which include a number of expensive BMWs and Audis - from bird poo.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the resident said: “The spikes are solely to protect the cars, there is no other reason.”
“There is a big problem with bird droppings around here. They can really make a mess of cars, and for some reason the birds do seem to congregate around this area.”
The ‘anti-bird spikes’ are commonly used in shopping centres to protect shoppers from falling bird poo.
But the use of spikes in trees “is a much less common occurrence, although they are understood to have been put in the branches some time ago,” adds the paper.
Wildlife experts and environmentalists expressed their outrage online at the practice.
Mike Dilger, wildlife reporter for The One Show, told the BBC: “It's another example of a small number of people who live in the city and want the city aseptic and void of wildlife.”
“They’re anaesthetised to nature.”
Hillcrest Estate Management told the BBC it had tried a number of measures to deter the pigeons, including fake birds and noise deterrents, but had little success and installed the spikes in 2014.
The firm added: “Bird detritus can cause permanent damage to the paintwork on cars if not removed promptly and the worst affected leaseholders wanted action taken to try and improve the situation.”