Who's in charge of bird nuisance?

Ng Puay Leng Today Online 27 Dec 11;

SINGAPORE - Birds continue to be a source of problem in areas of dense population in Singapore but as Channel NewsAsia finds out, it's been a challenge pinning down the relevant authorities in charge of the problem.

Crows come under the purview of the National Environment Agency (NEA) while the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) handles complaints of nuisance with pigeons.

But it gets a little complicated when it comes to mynahs.

When Channel NewsAsia visited a coffee shop at Bishan Street 11, mynahs were seen picking at leftovers.

Stall holders said the number of mynahs in their coffee shop has more than doubled in the past two years.

And when they approached the NEA and AVA, both agencies said they are not in charge of handling the birds.

Both the NEA and AVA confirmed this with Channel NewsAsia.

This has left the coffee shop owner with no choice, but to resort to some creative methods to fend off the birds.

"In the past, we used the reflection of CDs to scare the mynahs away," Bishan coffee shop owner Hong Qi Wei.

"But after the second week, they came back. So now, we're trying a new method. We're using fake crows to scare away the mynahs."

The NEA has seen 1,796 complaints regarding crows as of November this year -- 100 fewer, compared to the number last year.

The AVA on the other hand, said it saw an increase in the number of complaints relating to pigeons.

As of October, there were reports of 560 complaints, exceeding the 360 received last year.