Pigeons ruffle feathers in Regina neighbourhood

Dozens of pigeons living in one man’s backyard are ruffling the feathers of some neighbours in North Central.

Gord Loucks is currently feeding and housing nearly a hundred pigeons in a building behind his house in the 900-block of Princess Street.

“There’s ten or 20,000 feral pigeons flying around this city, and of course, it’s cold,” Loucks said. “I let them come into Club Med. Stay a night at ‘Club Pigeon’.”

The pigeons have some of Loucks’s neighbours in a flap.

Dale Johnson said he can’t use his backyard when the weather is warm.

“Just the stink is horrendous,” Johnson said. “They’re vile disgusting creatures. He doesn’t worry where they go or who they affect.”

“Especially in the springtime, when things starts to melt and the sun comes out, I have to turn off my HVAC system because it brings the air from outside in,” neighbour Tiffany Kleppe said. “People have to plug their nose to walk up to my house.”

Kleppe has two young children and is worried the birds could spread disease.

“Just their health safety, I even looked into calling the health inspector out, which was going to cost me like 800 bucks for them to test the air,” she said.

However, not every neighbour on the block is against the birds.

“I don’t mind it. I know it’s sometimes a little inconvenient, but I have no issues with it,” neighbour Joely Bigeagle-Kequahtooway said.

Regina residents can’t keep more than 50 pigeons that are over the age of a month, according to city bylaws. Yards and buildings must also be kept free of any pigeon infestations.

On Tuesday, the city gave Loucks 30 days to remove the birds from his property.

Loucks said he’s already arranging to move the birds to a sanctuary. However, he said he’s owned pigeons for years before the bylaw was introduced, and he wants to see the rules changed.