TD Bank bird torture was an accident!

[Crossley]

The owners of the TD bank on the northeast corner of Dundas and Ossington are putting glue on the facade around the entrance to the bank in order to trap birds.

The birds aren't so much being trapped, as they are getting really badly stuck so that their feathers rip out when they try to escape. They are then falling to the ground and getting stuck to the cement where they are freezing or starving to death.

We saw one bird tear it's major wing feathers out trying to escape and now it's immobilized. Another guy was glued to the ground in front of a neighboring store. I'm sure the owners will be bummed out when they have to scrape off a little city-fowl carcass glued to their front step on Monday.

This totally turned my stomach, we called animal services and they are sending somebody out to look at it.

This seems so medieval, I don't understand...

Here are some pics:

[Rob The Thief]

that's sad and sick.  obviously there's a better way to do that.

[Vend]

I don't really care that much about animal rights, but that looks awful and stupid.

[Lib v.2]

fuck these people

[everynewmorning]

Kudos for contacting Animal Services. Also, the Ministry of the Environment regulates pest control, and from what I understand - prohibits any measures which can harm non-target birds. Clearly any bird landing on the glue could be easily injured or killed (not to mention the inherent cruelty to the targeted pigeons). I'm not in the area, but I'll follow up with the Ministry of the Environment tomorrow morning when the office re-opens.

The deterrence of pigeons generally breaks down to concern about building erosion (from their droppings) and the nuisance. What these short sighted property and business owners don't realize is that killing off a portion of pigeon flocks can actually increase their numbers/breeding rate later on (thanks to the selecting out of weaker and older pigeons in the population as well as the temporary increase in food supply following a cull). Non-lethal measures are significantly more effective in reducing pigeon populations by limiting reproduction and most importantly, reducing the food supply in urban areas.

What the fuck is wrong with people.

[InebriatedStranger]

Nice set of misplaced priorities at work here. I wonder whether the people who bank at that branch would be more dismayed by a glob of pigeon shit on their clothes or that they have lost much of their retirement savings in botched, mismanaged mutual funds . As long as people still get their bonuses ...

[rachael]

i am a wuss and could not look at the pictures, but what i saw through my hand covering my eyes was bad enough.

does anyone know if it is something all TD branches are doing, or just this one?
or maybe i will find out tomorrow. i live down the street from the dundas & ossington one, but i cannot handle the thought of broken birds while i deposit my rent cheque, so i will go to the branch near my work. if there are busted up birds at more than one branch, that would be too much.
maybe i am naive in the ways of bird control, but i had never heard of glue traps being used for pigeons.

i will now work on my master plan of disguising myself as a contractor and sticking glue on the toilet seats of whoever decided this was a good idea.

[slinky]

I don't know what the expected result could have been from this. It just seems like a very poorly thought out plan probably pitched by some company that convinced them that it would in no way harm the birds.

[Pork Chop #9]

Here is some more information on glue traps: 

http://www.idausa.org/facts/gluefacts.html
http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/f23/goop-glue-traps-amp-one-way-entrance-traps-12636-2.html

I didn't even know these traps existed before I read this post. Not only is this a completely barbaric way to treat the problem, it also seems pretty ineffective. So now they have pigeon corpses to clean up instead of pigeon shit? Makes no sense.

You should also let FLAP know about this: http://www.flap.org/new/whois_fr.htm - seems TD one of their sponsors (see 'our supporters'). I guess they only care about certain birds. 

[everynewmorning]

I don't know what the expected result could have been from this. It just seems like a very poorly thought out plan probably pitched by some company that convinced them that it would in no way harm the birds.

Or potentially, well thought out, considering culling pigeon populations one season is almost guaranteed to bring them more business the next. It seems as profitable as it is cruel, and ineffectually fucked up.

I dug around and found a NOW article from Feb, 2008 about pigeon control in Toronto: http://www.nowtoronto.com/news/story.cfm?content=161755

The article does a decent job of outlining the realities of pigeon culling and alternatives.

[Represto]

The glue traps are disgusting.  Both for birds and rodents.  Have you ever had to deal with a gaggle of pigeons having a full on orgy outside your bedroom window?  Not fun times.  A neighbour of mine had a year long battle with them.  Boarding up any spot they could set up shop, laying down spike strips...eventually he bought a sling shot.  This is also not a good thing to do.  The best way is to get into falconry.  Falcons.

I think my people are partly to blame.  We raise pigeons as pets and food sources.

[GrannyGremlin]

Yes, Falcons (what the airport uses actually - to keep other birds out of the general area and, by extension, out of jet engines). ... realistically though, I was under the impression that spike strips worked - I mean they can't land there if you put them down right?  The TTC uses them and I never see birds up where the strips are.

Even ignoring the barbarism, this glue thing makes no sense at all.  I suggest tar and feathering the manager of that branch/whoever is involved.

[apieceofstring]

if anyone has a ladder i suggest a nighttime visit with a ladder and a bunch of copies of NOW or something to cover up the glue.

maybe chuck some sand up there or something?

this really makes me angry.

[GrannyGremlin]

Coincidentally, I may be at that corner tonight.  There is a now box accross the street by the Eastbound streetcar stop.

I won't have a ladder though.

[BeastMaster]

this isnt nice to birds

[GrannyGremlin]

They have cameras anyways. ... and I did say that I don't have a ladder.

[rachael]

the TD at queen & spadina was not covered in bird torsos, so i am guessing it's just that one branch.
please let us know when you've heard from the ministry of the environment. i need to know who i should direct my random yelling at (which, i guess, would make it not random)

[buffmedway]

Glue traps are disgusting, and should be outlawed.

BUT...

I would like some clarification on this matter. 

Are you saying it is the TD BANK/TD Bank manager/ TD Bank Staff/ TD Bank Users that are doing this...? or are you saying it is the owner(s) of the building, currently being occupied by a branch of the TD BANK, who is committing this atrocity...? 

You are really wielding a wide paint brush here, with your accusations.  "TD BANK CITY BIRD TORTURE" is a pretty serious finger-point.

[BeastMaster]

its true it could be a landlord 

[calendarization]

but if you are the manager of a branch of the 5th largest bank in the world [as per CBC this morning], then perhaps you'd want to think of the PR factor involved.  maybe if you are that manager, you've managed to get to that position because you aren't entirely brain dead.  maybe you are aware that people who care about animals are quite vocal about it.  maybe the excuse of "well, i didn't order it, it was the property management" won't really wash.  perhaps you should make some very quick inquiries with the property management company about changing their policy of pest control so as to not tarnish the reputation of the company you work for.

[westeyes]

this thread will end in tears/lawsuits/screaming

[BeastMaster]

maybe the landlord no speaky engrish!

[Apocalypse WOW]

but if you are the manager of a branch of the 5th largest bank in the world [as per CBC this morning], then perhaps you'd want to think of the PR factor involved.  maybe if you are that manager, you've managed to get to that position because you aren't entirely brain dead.  maybe you are aware that people who care about animals are quite vocal about it.  maybe the excuse of "well, i didn't order it, it was the property management" won't really wash.  perhaps you should make some very quick inquiries with the property management company about changing their policy of pest control so as to not tarnish the reputation of the company you work for.

Maybe they don't particularly give a fuck.  Just saying.

But yeah...glue traps for birds seem pretty cruel.

[GrannyGremlin]

Glue traps are disgusting, and should be outlawed.

BUT...

I would like some clarification on this matter. 

Are you saying it is the TD BANK/TD Bank manager/ TD Bank Staff/ TD Bank Users that are doing this...? or are you saying it is the owner(s) of the building, currently being occupied by a branch of the TD BANK, who is committing this atrocity...? 

You are really wielding a wide paint brush here, with your accusations.  "TD BANK CITY BIRD TORTURE" is a pretty serious finger-point.

In the pics you can see that the glue is on the top of the backlit TD Signs (dripping down the front).  That seems to imply that it was done by the local TD branch.  If the landlord did do it, TD should have a fit for messing up their signage (do you know how much it costs for the permits to put those up; not just a one-off fee either, but monthly).

[Apocalypse WOW]

In the pics you can see that the glue is on the top of the backlit TD Signs (dripping down the front).  That seems to imply that it was done by the local TD branch.

I think that's bird shit, actually.

[buffmedway]

In the pics you can see that the glue is on the top of the backlit TD Signs (dripping down the front).  That seems to imply that it was done by the local TD branch.

I think that's bird shit, actually.

yeah... pretty sure that is bird shit. 

[GrannyGremlin]

Fine, but the glue is still on top of the sign (if there's bird shit on the sign, then that's obvs were the winged rats hang)... and TD owns the sign.

[buffmedway]

Fine, but the glue is still on top of the sign (if there's bird shit on the sign, then that's obvs were the winged rats hang)... and TD owns the sign.

Say what...?   How can you tell there is a glue-trap on top of that sign? 

[apieceofstring]

Fine, but the glue is still on top of the sign (if there's bird shit on the sign, then that's obvs were the winged rats hang)... and TD owns the sign.

Say what...?   How can you tell there is a glue-trap on top of that sign? 

i think i see a tuft or feathers stuck up there on the right hand side of the first pic... (i might be inferring that)

EDIT:

i had another look. that's part of the archway i was seeing.

however- de-winged birds on the sidewalk is pretty good evidence that there's something sticky up there...

[GrannyGremlin]

I don't know it's there - but that's where the pigeons hang out right?  Like if you ever walked by there, you'd have seen them.  At the very least, the shit down the front prooves that they stand there and hang their arses over the side, making it the place one would expect to find pest control measures, if any exist at all (have you seen the glue, maybe the OP made it all up and covered that pictured bird with glue themselves because they hate TD bank?).

[graphs]

So has anyone contacted the media yet? If you want to start a shitstorm about this, a message board isn't going to cut it. Either vandalize the bank at night or call somebody who can actually pressure the tenant/landlord about it.

[everynewmorning]

I have gotten in touch with both the Ministry of the Environment and City Hall and ultimately referred by both to the SPCA. What the SPCA requires to dispatch someone is the exact address and visual confirmation that there are traps or glue on the building. Also, to echo the reservations of a few other people - they can't be certain if it's TD or a property manager who put the glue traps down.

Could someone who lives nearer to this TD location confirm that 1) yes, there are still glue traps in place on the TD building and 2) the exact address? You can call 416.392.9992 to get the SPCA to investigate, or if you aren't keen on the idea of following up with SPCA, please post the information and I'll call them back.

[rachael]

i have dispatched an agent. he will report back after the lunching hour.

[GrannyGremlin]

Don't they have an online branch locator that could help with tha address?

[rachael]

1140 dundas street west.

[Parkade]

It's right by my house, if nobody gets back before 5, I'll swing by on my way home...

[Doc Pickles?]

How can you cry about a few feathers at a time like this?! They only made $700million profit last quarter. This is all part of a plan to SAVE AMERICA AND THE WORLD!

http://www.globeinvestor.com/servlet/story/ROC.20090225.2009-02-25T225050Z_01_TRE51O4YL_RTROPTT_0_CBUSINESS-US-TDBANK/GIStory/

TD said its profit fell to C$712 million, or 82 Canadian cents a share, in the first quarter, ended January 31, from C$970 million, or C$1.33 a share, a year earlier.

"We expect to continue growing total capital through retained earnings growth and, if necessary, through preferred share issuance. We still have capacity to issue about C$2 billion in preferreds by torturing pigeons with rat glue," she said.

[rachael]

pigeon report, courtesy of craig:
no pigeon carcasses outside. no glue or feathers visible. there are spikes on the sign and on the side of the building.
/endpigeonreport.

[Honeyschool Die]

Can't you just put up an owl statue? I thought pigeons hate owl statues.

[larabee]

Hey all,

I signed up for an account so I could reply to a couple of questions about the glue. I was the one who took the pictures so I can explain a little bit about what you see and what you can't see in them. I'm a bit short so I had a hard time getting a picture from a proper angle to actually see the glue but the pillar in the picture shows some ornate detailing with a slight ledge above it and this ledge was completely covered with a thick layer of glue. The feathers that you see on the right side of the pillar are stuck in some of the glue and were ripped out a bird's wing that was dangling from the ledge. The pigeon that you see in the picture had fallen from the ledge and was glued to the front steps leading up to the door. He couldn't move his wings or walk because he was covered in this substance. I don't know if TD is specifically responsible or if it is the landlord of the building but I suspect it is both and either way it is an unacceptable and inhumane way of treating any animal, regardless of whether or not it is viewed as a pest.  

Thanks for the pigeon report btw!