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46
Destruction of pigeons
Section 121 of the Public Health (London) Act, 1936, enables a
local authority to take steps for the purpose of abating or mitigating
any nuisance, annoyance or damage caused or which might be caused
by the congregation of pigeons which are as far as can be ascertained
without an owner. The local authority is enabled to seize and destroy,
or sell or otherwise dispose of any such pigeons in excess of such number
as may be considered reasonable.
The difficulties of dealing with the problem remain and little of
value can be added to previous reports although several young birds
and eggs were destroyed from colonies found under railway bridges
and on the Town Hall roof. Early in 1958 the Council managed to secure
the services of an outside pigeon-catcher.
Exhumations
It is the practice for a sanitary inspector to be in attendance at an
exhumation, and one such attendance was made in 1957.
Sanitary work generally
Mr. Walker, the senior public health inspector, reports: "As before,
the total number of inspections made by the public health inspectors is
much the same as in the preceding year. The number of complaints
received, however, was much lower and this I think can be accounted for
by the coming into force of the Rent Act 1957. It was noticed that many
landlords were reaching agreement with tenants as to repairs and this,
combined with the number of applications for disrepair certificates, has
had the effect of cutting down complaints made for the remedying of
nuisances under the Public Health Act.
The use of oil heaters for occasional and, in some cases, permanent
use seems to be increasing. While this form of heating has much to offer
in efficiency and convenience, it does not seem generally known that a
great amount of water vapour is given off in the combustion of paraffin.
Where a heater of this type is in constant use in an unventilated or poorly
ventilated room, the walls and the contents of the room, especially textiles,
can become very damp or even wet. This trouble is being increasingly
met by the inspectors when investigating complaints of dampness, and
householders in these cases are given appropriate advice. I think it would
be helpful if makers of the appliances could include a note of advice with
the printed instructions usually given with every appliance sold."