People Who Feed Pigeons Are Mentally Ill, Claims Council

People Who Feed Pigeons Are Mentally Ill, Claims Council, In a report from Liverpool City Council, the statement said: “Pigeon Feeding – Often undertaken by individuals with mental health needs.”  The statement was part of the council’s Street Activity Management Plan, and has enraged members of the mental health charity MIND.

The council based the report on a survey taken several years ago, but was unable to provide a copy to back up the claim.

It was estimated that in 2007, street cleaners in Liverpool spent a total of 88 hours a day cleaning up pigeon droppings, which forced the council to invest in the “Robop” – a robotic bird of prey perched on buildings to deter pigeons.

A spokeswoman at MIND blasted the claim as “outlandish” and adding to discrimination towards those suffering from mental illness.

Kate Stringer, Head of Communications at Time to Change, England’s biggest mental health anti-stigma programme run by Mind and Rethink Mental Illness, said: “This is another example of the unhelpful misconceptions that surround people with mental health problems.

“One in four of us will experience a mental illness at some point in our lives and so to make such outlandish assumptions is only adding to the discrimination that so many of us are having to face everyday.”

Liverpool Liberal party leader Cllr Steve Radford called the claim “ludicrious” and “stereotypical” and slammed the council as “naive”.

He said: “The claim is incredibly insulting. There are people who like feeding pigeons without thinking of the consequences, but to call them mentally ill is just ludicrious. (Telegraph.co.uk)