DP wants to shoot pigeons nesting under our solar panels

[supersop60]

We have pigeons nesting under our solar panels. They are noisy and make a mess. DP will not listen to me about trying humane methods to get rid of them eg I bought a fake hawk, but he just rolled his eyes and cast it aside.
I saw him this morning putting his air rifle in the car and said he was taking it to have the sight aligned. He wants to shoot the pigeons!
My question is - what do I do now? Im not sure I’m tough enough to call the police on him.
He knows my feelings and opinions on the matter, but he just wants the pigeons gone.
WWYD?

To be fair the fake birds of prey don’t work, so OP don’t waste your money. It is very difficult
to deter pigeons unfortunately. Best to block off their access if it’s under the solar
panels.

He is. That’s a whole other thread.

What do you suppose the fines will be for Deadeye Dick?

And that's if he doesn't break the solar panels or put holes in your roof or injure himself. Idiots and weapons are not a good mix.

He's cheap and stupid and mean. What do you get out of this relationship?

I remember your last thread where he wouldn't come to the hospital when you lost consciousness and were taken there by ambulance.

Is this not illegal?! What a wanker. I’d definitely phone the police if he did it, you could do it anonymously, it might after all be one of your neighbours

Are you quite rural/ isolated ? There’s a house over from me ( London) that has just had solar panels installed on the side facing the street and someone taking shots at that would have the police and the police helicopter buzzing around overhead very quickly !

@outerspacepotato
Well he’s not like that all the time!
When he gets a bee n his bonnet about something, he’s very hard to shift.

It IS illegal. That’s why I mentioned the police.
What would happen to him if I did report him?

my friend bought a house with solar panels and pigeons underneath, called out pest control who said he isn't allowed to remove them..we have 12 solar panels anti bird netting costs £300.

This makes me so sad. I love pigeons. They are just trying to survive, they've found a dry, safe place. They don't understand they are being a nuisance.

Please don’t hurt them. You can shoo them away (if they have no babies) and use netting so they can't get back in.

Tell him if he shoots them he can move out

Shooting them is a bit extreme.

Could he not just wring their necks and put chicken wire up while he's at it?

This.

I couldn't be with someone who believed this was an okay thing to do OP. Does he know birds feel fear and pain? Does he know pigeons are only here because humans put them here and then abandoned them?

I would be sad each time I looked at him, with such an archaic and brutal way of thinking. I couldn't love someone like this.

This is totally wrong. You need a license for starters, and some cannot even be killed humanely with a license. Don’t speculate on things that you don’t know about and disguise the speculation as fact.

Yes, but either you install the netting etc or you put up with birds nesting there. The venue is ideal for raising a young family if you are a bird, if he shoots these ones, more will move in. He's insane.

The shooing doesnt work. I’ve tried flapping a bright red umbrella. They fly off and land on the telegraph wires until Ive gone, then go back. I have no idea how to put netting around. The panels take up nearly all of the roof. Our ladder reaches to the edge of the roof about 15 ft up so we can clean the gutters, but the panels go up further. How can anyone get up to that level safely, and then fix a net is beyond me.

@supersop60 I think shooting near solar panels is bloody stupid, but woodpigeons are considered pests and the shooting of them is permitted under the authority of relevant general licences issued by DEFRA. However, there are still laws relating to shooting that apply. I'm presuming your DH has a gun licence. He also needs to make sure that he can collect the dead birds, dispatch any wounded birds, that he is not disturbing nesting birds, that he is not shooting over someone else's land or anywhere near public roads or footpaths etc, that the shot will not go over someone else's land too.

Before you telephone the police, have a look here: https://basc.org.uk/pest-and-predator-control/woodpigeon-code-of-practice/

No license.

How are his broken solar panels?

Not sure but I think shooting protected species is taken quite seriously?

Don’t think licence is necessary if it’s only air rifle.

Would there be any helpful suggestions from the installers of the Solar Panels?

Missed that it was an air rifle. Good luck shooting pigeons with that!

Firstly, Feral Pigeons can be culled under the general licence, which means, technically - if they were destroying your ‘crops fruit and veg’, you would be entitled to cull them after trying other other methods (it would be best to record this).

Shooting them on a roof top would not be advisable however - ignoring the risk of errant pellets, a headshot is almost impossible, and pigeons have a tough breastplate, so a better method would be trapping - via a Larsen trap - and then humane despatch.

If your DH complies with the above, he’s all good.