Greetings, you generous people of Blackburn. Did you know you can make a difference to science and ecology for as little as only £4 a week? For the price of a pint, you can adopt a pigeon.
We are constantly being flooded on TV by begging adverts asking us to put our hands in our pockets for endangered species. The latest one is asking us to adopt a penguin! It’s perishing cold where they live, but are they really on the verge of extinction? Apart from our feathered friends from Antarctica, you are blasted by videos of glamorous and cuddly creatures, like Giant Pandas, Tigers and Snow Leopards.
But you never see clips of other endangered species, such as the Spiny Anteater, Blobfish or Proboscis Monkey being advertised. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) must think they are too ugly to make you want to put your hand in your pocket. Here in Blackburn we’re not just interested in glamorous creatures, we also like to side with the underdog. What more unglamorous specimen could there be than the moth-eaten, flea-ridden common pigeon?
A project is about to be launched with a goal of humanely reducing our urban pigeon population in Blackburn, by using a form of birth control rather than culling. This would involve finding out more about their lifestyle and breeding habits. Data would be gathered through use of micro cameras and sensors connected to the birds and in their roosts. For £4 a week you can open up a whole new world and eavesdrop on their lives.
You could watch all the local pidgey events taking place in Blackburn and beyond. A kind of birdy soap opera. With their tracker installed, you could follow all their goings on in the sky and on terra firma. They would also have fitted a collar with a camera installed. Your name would also be included on a ring on their feet, making you top of the pecking order. Never mind watching EastEnders or Coronation Street on TV. Why not watch a real life nature soap opera.
Scientists believe tracking pigeons won’t be an easy task. But with the cooperation of Blackburn’s generous people, they reckon they won’t need to wing it. They assure us this is serious scientific research and the sky’s the limit. Their brand new Cambodian website has all the details pertaining to setting up an account for donating your £4 weekly payments.
