A branch of McDonald’s has been closed in Hull and it appears to have had an unexpected effect on the city’s population of crows.

People believe they are turning violent because they are unable to get their McDonald’s fix.

They claim the lack of scrap food is making the black pests more aggressive as they turn on themselves and other birds such as pigeons for nutrition.

The owner of one business at Kingston Retail Park in Hull said he found a dead pigeon which had been killed by crows.

Paul Rymer said: ‘We came into work one morning to find a pigeon all mangled and being pecked at by two crows.

‘They were both standing over it and we obviously scared them away.

‘When you get something like McDonald’s shutting for a few weeks it’s what happens, but there’s a lot of related problems down here with pigeon mess and litter that need to be sorted.

‘Something should be done about them.’

Other business owners believes that the crow problem, which includes an increasing number of the birds appearing, said issues with the animals pre-dates the fast food chain closure.

Phil Storey said: ‘It’s been pretty bad round here for a year now.

‘It’s a particular problem because of the litter. Nobody knows what a bin looks like these days.

‘They seem to be attacking pigeons and each other. It’s not really putting anyone off coming down here, but it can be a bit intimidating for old people and children.’

Wildlife expert Tim Cockerill described crows as among ‘the most intelligent species’ around but said they did not generally feed on larger birds.

He said: ‘It’s quite likely that in this case the crows were scavenging on the pigeon rather than having killed it.

‘But they are very, very clever and if they see an opportunity to get something they will exploit it completely.

‘They don’t really cause any problems for humans, but there are other similar black birds that they get mistaken for, that can do.’

Source:
courtesy of METRO

by Richard Hartley-Parkinson

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