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Sanctuary vs. Pigeons
PiCAS UK recently stayed at Hillside Animal Sanctuary in Norwich while working on a project in the area. At the end of the visit, PiCAS UK staff were offered a tour of the sanctuary.
Whilst on the tour, it was mentioned that there was a substantial problem with pigeons at the farm and this was noted and a meeting then took place with various staff at the farm as well as Wendy Valentine.
It was then discovered that HILLSIDE ANIMAL SANCTUARY LIMITED has brought in a pest control company called Igrox to survey the farm and provide a quotation for culling all the pigeons on site, of which there are approximately 200 birds.
The wording on the quote is as follows:
"This removal of the bird population from the feed barn will be conducted over 3 evenings to ensure full completion and maximum discretion.
The cost to administer this treatment is £1,782.00 plus VAT
To install a pvc strip curtain door to the Feed Barn is £2,642.00 plus VAT
To install a net exclusion system to the Missy Barn is £3,964.00 plus VAT
To conduct full cleaning down of pigeon and dove faecal matter and related debris to treated areas and then complete an anti-bacterial treatment is £1,908.00 plus VAT"
As you can see, this quote comes to £10,296.00 + VAT!
PiCAS UK has a copy of this quotation should anyone wish to confirm the above.
Hillside Animal Sanctuary’s problems started when they rescued a flock of white doves which were kept in an aviary. Wendy Valentine herself let the birds out of the aviary, where they then spotted the feed barn next door and they’ve been in there ever since. There is an abundance of food in this barn (it’s not in sealed containers) and therefore pigeons from local areas have now joined in. The barn is huge and with the birds all nesting at height, there is no way that the bird numbers can be controlled at the moment, apart from shooting them. This is a problem of Hillside’s own making!
PiCAS UK has been trying to encourage Hillside to bring them in since the meeting but to no avail. Wendy Valentine has now become very abusive to both PiCAS and Maggie & Lynn at Pigeon Recovery, who have provided Hillside with all their artwork (free of charge) for years, and she has now said they won’t use PiCAS UK even though they have offered to provide their services and expertise to the sanctuary.
They’re already building an aviary as we speak, and at the same time have confirmed to PiCAS UK that they don’t have a clue what they’re doing, they don’t know how large the aviary needs to be, or how to hand-rear squabs (which there will be a lot of!), and it is inevitable that birds will die if Hillside staff remove all the birds from the barn themselves. Nests will also be missed and squabs will be left to starve to death.
Hillside staff have lied to their supporters and PiCAS UK consistently since they were caught out, promising everyone that PiCAS UK will be brought in to help but they’ve done everything possible to illustrate that they’re not going to use them, and it is the opinion of PiCAS UK that there would be a lot more than 200 pigeons if they’ve had the problem there for as long as they say they have and therefore, PiCAS UK believes that culling has taken place before.
Wendy Valentine has also confirmed to PiCAS UK that Hillside kills "thousands of rats every year" on the farm, even though Wendy admitted to having rescued rats at home! Hillside Animal Sanctuary poison the thousands of rats and it will sometimes take days for the rats to die, the most hideous and agonising deaths. PiCAS UK did advise Wendy to contact a humane/non-lethal organisation to remedy the rat problem two weeks ago but even today, Wendy told a supporter that they don’t know what else they can do apart from kill the rats!
This sanctuary is a limited company and is NOT a charity and therefore it is imperative that their supporters really know what the truth is. They have shareholders who, of course, will want to make a big profit and a lot of their supporters think they’re a charity and their donations will help the animals. This is clearly not the case at all.
We will leave it up to you to make your own mind up, but PiCAS UK are already demanding their money back, as Hillside encouraged them to use their accommodation under false pretences.
If you would like to contact Hillside about this, their details can be found below, as well as all the local media for Norwich:
Hillside Animal Sanctuary Ltd
Hall Lane
Frettenham
Norwich
NR12 7LT
Tel: 01603 736200
Fax: 01603 738520
Email: contact@hillside.org.uk
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