Northern Rail issues apology after organising shooting of wild birds at Manchester station

Northern Rail has issued an apology after organising the shooting of pigeons at Manchester Victoria Station.

This comes after it was recently revealed that the train operator had sub-contracted Ecolab to carry out bi-weekly bird cullings at Manchester Victoria station.

The operator said that the pigeons at the station were becoming “unmanageable and posing a risk to colleagues and customers.”

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Northern Rail has confirmed that bird cullings are no longer taking place, and that no further culls are planned for the future.

The cullings saw birds shot with rubber pellets, leading to members of the public finding injured pigeons inside the station.

One bird was found with a pellet lodged in its neck, while another had to have its leg amputated by a vet.

A spokesperson for Northern Rail has now responded to the controversy, saying they are “reviewing the footage posted on social media” showing injured birds, and that they “are sorry for any distress caused.”

“This pest control activity was carried out at Manchester Victoria station last year,” the spokesperson said, “as the pigeons were becoming unmanageable and posing a risk to colleagues and customers. This was undertaken by a licensed and specialist subcontractor, following surveys and risk assessments.

“We use a number of other methods to deal with pigeons at stations across our network. We are reviewing the footage posted on social media and are sorry for any distress caused.

“Since the issue was brought to our attention in December we have instructed our contractors to cease activity and no further culls are planned at Manchester Victoria.”

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