Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) officials descended on Wat Bukkhalo in Bangkok's Thon Buri district yesterday to pursue the campaign to remove pigeons from bird-infested places.
The anti-pigeon operation came after Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha ordered City Hall and other administrative organisations nationwide on Wednesday to tighten regulations on feeding birds in public places due to concerns about hygiene.
The team that travelled to the pigeon-infested temple included deputy Bangkok governor Taweesak Lertprapan, Thon Buri district chief Manas Prachupchinda as well as BMA health and livestock officials.
Mr Taweesak said Wat Bukkhalo received a major complaint about a large flock of pigeons, saying up to 5,000 were believed to inhabit the area.
A large flock could often be seen in the afternoons when more people arrived, he said.
Health officials collected bird droppings and blood samples yesterday to find traces of disease, including bird flu, the deputy governor said, adding pigeons can transmit diseases to humans -- and there were such cases in the past.
Officials also placed cage traps at the temple so as to relocate the birds to a shelter in Pathum Thani.
He said the BMA will find ways to trap pigeons and move them elsewhere, adding it plans to consult with livestock officials to proceed with the task.
However, Mr Taweesak said, pigeons are smart enough to try to avoid the areas where cage traps are placed so a better approach is to ensure people do not feed the birds.
Others sprayed disinfectant and installed signs prohibiting people from feeding birds in the temple, he said.
Transgressors could be prosecuted based on the Public Health Act and district officers would be responsible for fining them.
First-time violators will be issued a warning, but if they continue to feed the pigeons, the law will be enforced against them, the deputy governor said.
The violators could face a jail term of up to three months or a maximum fine of 25,000 baht for the offence, he noted.
He added Bangkok governor Aswin Kwanmuang has instructed 50 districts to be vigilant about the problem.
A deputy BMA governor, Chakkaphan Phiewngam, said they also placed signs in 37 public places to seek cooperation.
Wat Bukkhalo abbot Phra Kru Pisal Thiratham said a huge number of people normally show up at the temple at weekends to feed fish and they also scatter the feed to pigeons, drawing thousands of birds to the temple.
Mr Taweesak said the BMA is appealing to people to refrain from scattering fish feed where birds can get at it.
The abbot said he was pleased with the BMA's effort to clean up and spray disinfectant at the site.
Opas Kankawinphong, deputy permanent secretary for public health, said people who could easily be infected by diseases carried by pigeons are children, the elderly, cancer patients as well as those with a poor immune system.
In Chiang Mai's Muang district, many tourists were found to have fed pigeons at Tha Pae Gate, thus increasing the population of birds at the site.
The place was plagued with bird droppings and discarded plastic bags containing bird feed, according to observers.
The problem persisted although Muang Chiang Mai municipality installed signs seeking cooperation from people to refrain from feeding the birds there, the observers said.
