Sainsbury's investigates after pigeons caught in ‘death trap’ outside Maidenhead store

Pigeons caught in anti-bird netting branded a ‘death trap’ outside Sainsbury’s superstore in Maidenhead are the subject of an investigation by the company.

Firefighters were dispatched to free the pigeons from their netted cage next to the A4 in St Cloud Way last week – though one pigeon had died before it could be rescued.

A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said the company was ‘urgently investigating’ and was ‘taking additional measures to prevent it from happening again’.

But animal advocacy group Foundation for Feathered Friends, alerted to the case by a watchful Maidenhead resident, says more needs to be done than ‘just lip service’.

“It’s a very cruel way to end their life,” said Denise Theophilus, founder of the group.

Foundation for Feathered Friends, a North Wales based organisation, helps people across the United Kingdom lobby councils and companies on animal welfare issues.

A resident raised the alarm over fears about pigeons trapped in netting outside the Sainsbury’s building and near the Hines Meadow Car Park entrance, around midday on March 5.

Firefighters from Maidenhead Fire Station, on-site for nearly 45 minutes, used a triple-extension ladder and tools to cut open the netting and free the birds.

“When they’re in the netting, they panic,” said Denise, 71.

“Birds have a device, like a sonar device, that helps them navigate and that is confused when they’re trapped and stressed.

“That navigation skill is gone so they’re fluttering against the netting; they get caught in it; they break a leg; break a wing.

“They have no water, so they’re also dehydrated – all those things are going on.”

Denise said she had been contacted by a ‘very distressed’ resident over the case and the foundation had then emailed Windsor and Maidenhead council for answers.

She said she had understood there were ‘two or three’ pigeons trapped and one was dead. When the Advertiser visited the site on Tuesday, a dead pigeon remained in the netting.

A hole has been cut in the netted area (top left of the image) where the birds became trapped. 

“Netting is a death trap,” Denise said, adding the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) now recommends against using anti-bird netting in favour of solid metal mesh.

In emails between Denise and the Royal Borough, seen by the Advertiser, the council said Sainsbury’s held responsibility for the netting outside the Hines Meadow Car Park. 

A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said: “Animal welfare is very important to us.

“As soon as we were made aware of the situation, we worked to resolve it immediately.

“We are urgently investigating how this occurred and are taking additional measures to prevent it from happening again.”

Denise said, while it was ‘good’ that the complaints were being investigated, action needed to be taken to stop more birds getting trapped.

Pigeons were ‘sweet-tempered creatures’, she said, and ‘the problem is they do actually like humans, that is the only stupid thing about them’.

She said: “Whoever is responsible – Sainsbury’s, the council, whoever it is - needs to make sure this doesn’t happen again, otherwise it’s just lip service isn’t it?”