The netting around the Christmas tree can damage pigeons – NRK Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
– When the Christmas tree netting is cut, pieces of thin nylon thread fall to the ground. The pigeons spend the whole day looking for food, says board member i The bird advocatesMai Juliet Butters Amundsen.
She says that the pigeons therefore stomp around and get these threads wrapped around their feet. The more the pigeons move, the tighter the thread becomes. The pigeons are unable to remove this from their feet themselves.
– This can eventually cause quite a lot of damage. In the worst case, the pigeons could lose their foot, she says.
The volunteers in the Bird Advocates often see missing toes when they are out cutting away threads, she says.
– This happens because the thread tightens so much that blood circulation is cut off. Next are the toes necrotic and falls off, describes Amundsen.
She shows NRK a thin nylon thread from the netting at a Christmas tree seller on Stortorvet in Oslo.
– We see that there are an extra lot of these types of threads now in December, in connection with the Christmas tree sale.
Just where the net is cut by the sellers, there are many small pieces of nylon thread on the ground. These are very fine, thin threads, so you hardly see them, says Amundsen.
Flyer campaign
Amundsen has initiated a campaign to do something about the problem.
– Dear Christmas tree sellers. Did you know that remnants of the net that the Christmas toes wrap in can cause great damage to bird feet?
This is how the flyer Amundsen has made for the Bird Advocates begins.
From their Facebook group, the Bird Advocates encourage their followers to spread the flyer.
So far, it has been distributed in several places in the country.
– I think the vast majority of Christmas tree sellers are not aware of the problem until they are informed about it, says Amundsen. She says that she and others cut threads from the Christmas training every week now.
The veterinary association: The netting is a threat to the pigeons
Amundsen receives support from the president of the Norwegian Veterinary Association, Bente Akselsen.
The consequence for the pigeons is that they get a wound from the netting wire. They can also hang themselves from something else, with the thread. If the cord stops the blood supply, the surrounding tissue will die. In the worst case, the pigeon could lose its foot, she says.
Akselsen says that the pigeons can also get an infection.
– Infected wounds can cause bird bacteria in the blood. It can be very dramatic. The bird can actually die from it, says the president of the Veterinary Association.
In addition, this is very painful for the pigeons. They have a nervous system just like us, says Akselsen.
She says that this applies to all bequests in nature.
Particularly relevant now are nets around tit balls. It can be put around legs, beaks and do other types of damage. Fishing line is another thing that can harm birds.
Bente Akselsen is happy that the matter is being raised, and has a call for everyone:
– It is important that people are aware of what we leave behind us outside. It has an impact on the animals, says the veterinarian.
– Can’t be a big problem
Espegard, a company that imports Christmas training from Germany, and sells equipment to Christmas tree sellers in Norway, is not aware of the problem.
– This may not be a major problem, but if there are birds that quickly get caught in nets or wires, it is completely unacceptable, says Espegard’s general manager, Rune Østgaard.
He places the responsibility on the Christmas tree sellers:
– If the birds wrap netting around their feet, the Christmas tree seller has not done his job and thrown the netting in the bin.
– If you pull the netting off instead of cutting it up, there is less waste. I take it for granted that the Christmas tree sellers clean up after themselves, otherwise they will hardly be allowed to come back to the same place of sale next year, says Østgaard.
It is therefore in everyone’s interest that outlets are cleaned, he believes.
The Christmas tree manufacturers are taking action
NRK has contacted the Directorate of Agriculture, which refers to the industry organization Norsk Juletre.
Managing director Heidi Amundsen has not heard of challenges with the network before NRK makes contact. She nevertheless acknowledges that this can be a problem.
– If this is a reality, we must do something about it. Norsk Juletre will inform its members, who are Christmas tree producers, about the problem, she says. So they can encourage their Christmas tree sellers to clean up. She mentions that there is a degradable bionet. This has been very difficult to obtain this year.
– I don’t know if bionet is that much better, but we have to look at solutions. “One too many is too much for a scumbag who has lost his way,” she says.
– We must do what we can to ensure that Christmas tree sales do not come at the expense of wildlife, says the general manager of Norsk Yuletre.
After NRK interviewed Amundsen, Norsk Juletre informed via its member magazine and contacted the Bird Advocates to invite a collaboration.
We cannot follow up this next season, because Norwegian Christmas Tree is forced to close down, says Amundsen.
Love to clean
On Stortorget, Bird Advocates’ Mai Amundsen gives a leaflet to the Christmas tree seller.
She tells about the problem and what the thread can do to the feet of the pigeons.
– Please, can you love to clean, so the birds don’t get hurt, she asks.
The Christmas tree seller smilingly promises to do so.