Cutting down the trees that provide a nesting place for a community of smelly cattle egrets is not the answer to the foul debris the birds leave on the sidewalk outside Nedbank in High Street.
Cutting down the trees that provide a nesting place for a community of smelly cattle egrets is not the answer to the foul debris the birds leave on the sidewalk outside Nedbank in High Street.
The only way to get the endangered avians to move, says Kevin Bates, Manager for the Makana Municipality Environment and Recreation Department, is by shooting them – with a high-pressure water jet.
Members of the public have complained about foul smells in the area, as broken eggs, droppings, and even dead chicks litter the pavement.
Fruit-seller Nokuzola Jezile complained said she was losing business, as the smell put people off buying food. "I have nowhere else to do my business," she said. "As you can see, this is not an ideal space, but I have no choice."
Jezile said municipal workers came to clean up the mess periodically, but that was all. "They come to disinfect the place every now and then – but then it's not enough, as you can see," she said, pointing at a freshly dead chick.
When Grocott's Mail asked Bates if cutting down the trees completely was an option, he said, "They will just relocate to other trees and thus perpetuate the problem. "We are aware of the health hazard and I have asked the supervisor of our water tanker to ensure that the pavement in the immediate vicinity of the trees is regularly washed down, until we can chase them away."
Bates said the birds would be scared off with a high-pressure water jet, as soon as the chicks were able to fly.
