PiCAS INTERNATIONAL

Consultancy Pulls Out of Pigeon Control Programme

The Pigeon Control Advisory Service International (PiCAS International) wishes to confirm that it has formally extricated itself as Melbourne City Council’s (CoM) chosen consultant for the proposed city-wide pigeon control programme. After a 2-year partnership with the CoM, PiCAS International has been forced to take this difficult decision based on seemingly irresolvable issues relating to the implementation of the programme.

PiCAS International was invited to visit Melbourne at the invitation of the CoM in June 2004 to advise the City Council on various non-lethal means of controlling the city’s growing pigeon population. A report was provided to the CoM following the visit which laid out the options available to the CoM. The CoM agreed to work in partnership with PiCAS International in an effort to provide a non-violent, sustainable and publicly acceptable pigeon control system based on the PiCAS model.

The PiCAS Group provides a comprehensive consultancy service based on over 30 years experience of working with its client base worldwide. Each client is provided with a tailor-made control system designed to affect a large reduction in bird-related problems in any given area as well as a dramatic reduction in flock size. All PiCAS approved systems are based on scientific research. As these control systems are complex by nature, requiring specialist advice and support throughout the entire implementation process, PiCAS International demands a high level of interaction with its clients to ensure that systems are provided as recommended.

PiCAS International has experienced ongoing and ever-increasing problems in respect of communication with the CoM’s Project Team as well as the ability to feed into the programme itself; countless attempts have been made to bring these problems to the attention of the CoM over an 8 month period but have failed to result in any improvement. Communication between the two organisations has now broken down altogether and this has resulted in a complete lack of confidence, on the part of PiCAS International, in the CoM’s ability to provide the programme as recommended. It is for this reason, and with regret, that we feel we have no choice but to end the partnership with the CoM and withdraw as their chosen consultants.

Guy Merchant, PiCAS Group Director said: "Attention to detail is critically important where this type of control system is concerned, in the main due to the fact that there is a very fine line between success and failure, and therefore a close working relationship with the client is not an option, it is a prerequisite. In this case we have been excluded from the detail of the process and we believe that the programme may be compromised as a result. We therefore cannot continue to lend our name and support to the programme. We do, however, wish the CoM every success with controlling the city’s pigeon population in the future."

For immediate release: 22nd June 2006