BBC Earth
Image: left-hand
It is an image that could have come straight from a parliamentary sketch writer’s column. While political hawks and doves clash inside the Palace of Westminster, real hawks patrol the skies above the famous buildings to control the population of feral pigeons – which, despite the name, are actually a kind of dove.
But it is not just at the UK’s Houses of Parliament that you might see a bird of prey swooping after problem birds. Hawks are also at work around the Scottish Parliament building in Edinburgh and in many other towns up and down the UK – as well as in other countries. Birds of prey have even been deployed in British seaside resorts to keep control of gull populations.
Clearly falconry is a hugely popular pest control measure. But is it effective? Read more on the BBC Earth website…
