Ho Lian-Yi, The New Paper 19 Mar 08;
A National Environment Agency (NEA) spokesman said: 'Like any wild animals, some birds may carry diseases. Therefore for hygiene reasons, it is important to ensure that they do not come into contact with the food we eat.'
BIRDS - scourge of coffee shops everywhere.
Leave any plate unwatched and it's not long before the feathered pests flutter down, poking hungrily at the food.
As one customer, 47-year-old security guard Abdul Majib, put it: 'The cleaner hasn't come, the birds come already.' Shoo them away all you want, but all they do is flutter to a not-too-distant spot, where they watch, and wait.
At least two coffee shops in Bishan have had enough, and have taken steps to keep them out.
One is GM Food Centre, on the second-storey of the Bishan bus interchange.
Go up the staircase and you'll find the whole coffee shop surrounded by a mesh, except for the entry from the staircase.
And there, a mock-up hawk, suspended by strings, acts as a scarecrow.
Clever, but not clever enough for bird brains, as The New Paper observed when a small sparrow nonchalantly zipped past the fake hawk, and out of the coffee shop.
One server, setting down drinks, said in Mandarin: 'At first, with the hawk, they wouldn't dare. But now they know it's not real, they aren't afraid anymore!'
In addition to nets and fake predators, they have also hung CDs from the ceiling.
Ms Ng Ong Kiaw, 48, the coffee shop supervisor, said the glare from the shiny CDs keeps birds away.
The net, which was installed 'two or three years ago', also serves to keep children in.
'It's not very safe to be on the second-storey with no barriers,' she said in Mandarin, referring to the low parapet. The shop is open, with no windows.
But is it effective to keep out the birds?
Very, she said.
There are far fewer birds now, and those that make it through are small ones.
A nearby S11 coffee shop at Block 504, Bishan Street 12, has come up with a similar idea, putting up a string fence at the side facing an open field, where many birds congregate.
According to a server there, the fence was put up about a year ago.
Another server said it was quite effective, especially at stopping bigger birds.
One vendor said that in the past, the birds would leave droppings, which can affect business.
'Some customers will say, eh, why so many birds,' she said.
One customer, Mr Lee Ah Mong, 52, a taxi driver, said there used to be a lot of birds there in the past, but he added that it's quite a common problem in coffee shops.
He has seen birds swooping and eating unattended food when the diner walked away to get drinks.
Mr Shaik Alhady, a 57-year-old retiree who was playing Sudoku while sipping tea at the coffee shop, said he has no problems with birds.
'Small birds are harmless,' he said.
But that may not always be true. A National Environment Agency (NEA) spokesman said: 'Like any wild animals, some birds may carry diseases. Therefore for hygiene reasons, it is important to ensure that they do not come into contact with the food we eat.'
Last year, NEA received 39 complaints of birds in coffee shops, a slight improvement from 42 in 2006.
NOT MAJOR PROBLEM
However, it is not a major problem here, the spokesman said.
'Coffee shop operators are advised and reminded from time to time to practise good waste management, such as removing food scraps promptly so as not to attract birds as well as other pests to their eateries.'
Said Mr Goh Shih Yong, spokesman for the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA): 'Good housekeeping, covered refuse bins and quick removal of leftover food at tables would help to reduce the problem of birds at coffee shops.'
There is no danger of getting bird flu from coffee shops, Mr Goh said. Singapore is currently free from bird flu. AVA has taken steps to prevent infected birds from being imported here.
But it shouldn't be up to coffee shop operators alone to keep the birds at bay.
Mr Philip Yip, a 60-year-old part-time teacher, said customers should also play their part.
'If they return the plates themselves, the problem is solved,' he said.
