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40
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 other likely places. Early in 1958 the Council managed to secure
the help of an outside pigeon-catcher, who serves various other boroughs
also, and he has reported that he has been able to kill many birds in the
course of the year.
Exhumations
It is the practice for a sanitary inspector to be in attendance at an
exhumation, and one such attendance was made in 1958.
Sanitary work generally
Mr. Walker, the senior public health inspector, reports : " The
number of inspections made in response to complaints during the year
was somewhat higher than in the preceding year, as also were those in
connection with applications under the Rent Act.
"The number of clean air inspections has greatly increased due
to house-to-house visitation in connection with smoke control areas,
and the higher figure for "futile visits" is mostly in connection with
this part of the work. The reaction of the public to smoke control areas
is varied. Many people welcome the innovation and are already using
smokeless fuels, even in old-fashioned fireplaces; a general complaint
in this connection is the difficulty of obtaining ready supplies of
"premium" fuels. There is however a minority which is definitely
hostile to using any kind of smokeless fuel, and a greater number of
people who have a prejudice against the use of coke. There appears to
have been a further increase in the use of oil-burning appliances, but
I have observed signs that the popularity of these heaters is on the wane,
and indeed I have met several people who have given them up for various
reasons.
"The number of outworkers seems to diminish steadily, but those
visited have been found to be working under very satisfactory conditions."