Failed attempt to chase the birds away: Pigeons land on dining tables and snatch food from diners

SINGAPORE: Birds are still becoming a nuisance at a coffee shop located in Toa Payoh when they directly fly onto the tables and snatch diners’ food. With this, the diners admitted that it was difficult to send them away, and the vendors even made their own partitions to prevent the birds from entering.

A 74-year-old private driver was dining at the coffee shop when he noticed that the customers near his table did not clean their dishes after finishing their meal. As soon as these customers left, about two or three pigeons flew onto the table and snatched the food, according to Shin Min Daily News.

With this, the man claimed: “These birds are not afraid of people, and sometimes you can’t shoo them away.”

This raised concerns about food hygiene and safety. When a reporter visited the coffee shop, it was discovered that several pigeons were wandering inside the shop, and others still flew onto the tables. 

A 50-year-old clerk admitted that there were more birds in the morning because there were more customers, and cleaners didn’t have enough time to collect all the dishes at once. 

Many people revealed that the said bird problem has always existed, and it has not been resolved in recent years. 

In a separate bird-related case in Singapore, a 67-year-old woman was reportedly caught repeatedly feeding pigeons across several Yishun HDB estates.

Since feeding these birds is illegal in the country, the suspect faces four charges for feeding wild animals without permission, thus violating the Wildlife Act. 

Read more about the news story here.