Singapore Expats

This just happened in our neighbourhood tonight.

Does anyone know why they do it? Poor bloody crows!

A bloke got out of a Certis 'Crow culling' van lights a-flashing, blew a tree in front of our condo to pieces, then picked up the dead birds and drove off.

[Do SGns sell them as a 'strengthener' for the 'weaker' males or something, otherwise what the heck are they doing?]

p.s. What shotgun rounds might they be using to shoot into the sky within 10m of homes and people? The lasting impression was that they got in, bam bam bam, a SWAT assault on a couple of harmless birds in a tree, 30 seconds, got out, and it was over in a minute. Weird, and very uncool.

I heard that they're from a gun club, but I'm not sure how true that is.

Is it a practical solution? Surely once they've taken one shot the others just fly off don't they?

Ok, solution or not, but what is the perceived problem?

I believe they're considered a pest here, but they don't go around shooting rats so I'm not sure why they choose to shoot crows.

SAFRA needs live target practice after all

Makes me a bit sick, as I think crows are lovely birds. Yes, they are 'big and black' (ooh!), but they are intelligent and gregarious, nowhere near as noisy as Koals, hey, and even Mynahs

Next thing after 'noisy birds', your condo will tell you they're chopping down every tree because 'they're old'. Oh hang on, that just happened to me....

Welcome to eco-Singapore. If it gets in the way, kill it.

Come on JR8, surely you remember the crows of Tokyo? They were vicious scavengers - I know several people who were attacked by them! Did this happen in Singapore? Anyone know?

I was alone at a small food centre beside siglap centre- Waiting for my food. The table was kinda big, & they havent cleared some of the left-over plates from the previous group.

This crow flew in from nowhere & started attacking the leftover food! It was so close to me- really got a shock! On hindsight it's kinda funny also, imagine sharing a table with a crow! By the way didnt know that crows can be so big-!

Attacked by crows? Come on, why would a crow waste it's energy attacking a person (cue someone dredging up a case where it has actually happened)

If people do not heed the government campaign and clear away their own food waste and trays at hawker centres, then of course birds, cats, rats and so on will come and pick up some scraps (I think the term 'attacking' the food-waste a little over-emotive!).

Still don't see the case for culling them.

p.s. Still interested if anyone knows what shotgun shells they are using...

JR8 wrote:
p.s. Still interested if anyone knows what shotgun shells they are using...

birdshot?

The Crow that's culled here is called the House Crow or Colombo Crow. It was an imported species not native here and has become a pest like the pigeon. It was originally imported to control rhino beetle infestations but soon got out of hand.

Roosting

House Crows roost communally near human habitations and often over busy streets. A study in Singapore found that the preferred roost sites were in well lit areas with a lot of human activity, close to food sources and in tall trees with dense crowns that were separated from other trees. The roost sites were often enclosed by tall buildings.[10]
[edit] Voice

The voice is a harsh kaaa-kaaa.[2]
[edit] Relationship to humans

It is suspected that paramyxoviruses, such as PMV 1 that causes of Newcastle disease[11] may be spread by Corvus splendens. Outbreaks in India of Newcastle disease were often preceded by mortality in crows.[12] They have also been found to carry Cryptococcus neoformans which can cause cryptococcosis in humans.[13]


http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news ... crows.html

Hey JR8 if you love the crows so much , perhaps you should set up a pro- crow organisation ...maybe even a website www.savethecrows.com

Lobbying can be fun!

Kaaa-kaaa-kaaa

Ooooh, the first time I saw a crow cull, I had to really work at holding in my breakfast. I was on a school trip and a couple of guys pulled up their truck, fired of a bunch of shots into a tree, picked up all the crow corpses by the feet, and threw the bunches into the back of their truck. It was hideous.

Never heard of crows attacking in Singapore, but they are definitely vicious in other places. The ones in Tokyo are the size of small dogs and really frightening.

That is exactly what happened Kiwi. For good measure they put a third shot through the nest to bring that down as well. The whole thing was over in about 15 seconds flat (from the first shot to them being back in their van). Afterwards you could hear the same thing from other parts of the neighbourhood...

p.s. Curiously I do not recall witnessing any problems with crows when I lived in Tokyo...