Shocking photos have emerged of pigeons getting trapped in netting under Glasgow bridges.
Helpless birds were spotted entangled at Partick railway station on Dumbarton Road - sparking fears they face an agonising death.
Glasgow City Council say the netting is installed where there is a 'public health issue in relation to pigeons'.
One furious passer-by demanded someone be prosecuted for animal cruelty but council chiefs said any bird’s death is “unintentional.”
An angry Record reader who took the photos said: “There seems to have been no attempt to remove the live birds that were perching under the bridge and when the netting was installed and they were left to die trapped in horrible circumstances. No escape hole has been fitted.”
Calling for legal action under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, they added: “Whoever is responsible for this horrific crime should be prosecuted.”
Trapped birds were also spotted behind similar netting underneath Kelvinbridge in the West End and at another bridge on Duke Street.
The concerned reader said: “Thousands of people must walk under this bridge every day and many must have seen the trapped birds above them.
“To knowingly trap a bird in this matter to suffer a lingering death is not only sickeningly cruel, it is also a criminal offence and whoever is responsible should be brought to book.”
But council chiefs said netting was essential to protect the public and birds are released once reported as trapped.
A Glasgow City Council spokeswoman said: “Preventing pigeons from being under a bridge is not the same as intentionally killing or intentionally injuring them.
“We only put netting/metal grilles in areas where there is a public health issue in relation to pigeons. However, it is not with the intention of harming them – it’s for the public’s protection.
“When it is brought to our attention that pigeons are trapped or in distress we will do everything we can to help.
“Now that we are aware of the pigeons at this location we can arrange for their release.”
