Small children chasing pigeons in the park - harmless or mean?

DGS always ran towards the ducks and geese he saw in the park because he loved them so much and he wanted to get close and watch them and talk to them.

Does that make what he was doing OK because his motives were of the highest and were driven by his love and concern for the birds.

I think the high falutin moral discussion here is a over the top. I doubt the toddler knows or understands the moral angst the adults around him are convulsed by.

Our DGS realised in time that it was better to approach the birds slowly and carefully because then they did not fly away the way they did when he ran towards them.

There is a difference between chasing them off for a reason and chasing them for fun as many children are allowed to do. I believe children should learn how to respect all living things. It is a difficult question though as children chase other children for fun (remember the game of “It” ?) but need to learn they cannot chase things that cannot respond. Would you encourage them to chase a dog?

I chase the vast number of wood pigeons out of the garden constantly - I’m sick of the c**p everywhere. All they do is fly up into the garage roof and smirk at us. Definitely not scared. We have had numerous magpies for the first time this year. Not seen any baby birds like robins or blackbirds this year. Soon the only birds left will be corvids, seagulls and pigeons.

I am with your daughter here, be kind to all living things and treat them as you would want to be treated whether human or not.

When we had a terrier she used to chase Squirrels in the garden, she never got close, it’s wrong to think of wild animals as pets they need their survival instincts or they don’t last long. That aside in some places Pigeons and Seagulls are a real pest, however it’s not acceptable to kick or throw stones at them (unless they are eating my cabbages)

No, it isn't right - I have never allowed my children or GC to chase and torment any creature. Where does it end?

You say you 'let' her chase the pigeons? This hints that it was a deliberate thing, maybe knowing your DD doesn't approve?

It seems a very trivial thing to mention, unless it was done also with some deliberation?

I am not sure why you mentioned it at all? I recall once buying my GS some chocolate, knowing my DD wouldn't approve. I realised my GS didn't really want it anyway, and I never did it again.

I think you were wrong to tell her, yes.

I've seen that too Esmay

My children didn't do it.
But I notice that many children do .
I saw a child trying to kick pigeons in the park last month and his parents were amused.

V3ra

No I don't think you were wrong not to stop your granddaughter.

Where does it end? Can she not go in the garden if there happens to be a pigeon there?

My terrier chases the pigeons all the time, they sit on the nearby house roof every day and watch him.
I think pigeons are fairly robust creatures emotionally.

She was wrong. Why would you encourage a child to chase after wildlife. Where does it end. We have deer appearing on our local beach, some ill educated idiots chased one, it panicked and died.
Teaching respect towards other creatures surely is the right thing to do. As for pigeons in the garden, I open the door, they fly away, but I don't chase them.

I’ve never seen a frightened pigeon. They languidly take off when I shoo them away from my patio. As someone said upstream, they laugh it off.

Did the child chase them, or simply run towards them?

We were in St Ives a few years ago, eating ice cream cones, keeping an eye out for seagulls. One (we are convinced it was cleverly hiding there) suddenly swooped from a rooftop and took a chunk out of my husband’s nose as it went for the ice cream. It didn’t even bother to fly off but sat on a nearby low wall with its meal. It was horrible.

I’m not sure how much explaining one can do with a two year old
My sister has a phobia and I have known her to send children ahead of her to encourage birds to remove themselves
As long as you don’t go the other extreme and let her feed the dam things , as others have said , distract the child

Feral Pigeons are a menace.
I wouldn't get concerned about Children chasing them off.
I would however explain it not a good thing to do in general.

I think it's cruel, and our boys were always told not to do it. It annoys me to see children frightening them when the adults with them say nothing.

No harm done and a good opportunity to explain how important it is for us to care for wildlife.

silverlining48

We all know what seagulls eat , anything that we happen to be eating. Chips and ice cream are top choice .
In days gone by when eating outside was frowned upon, seagulls would have had to go fishing for their lunch.

We are not far from the coast, if the sea is rough at high tide we get seagulls on the school field next door but one.

They little devils are known to dive bomb me when I am in the garden along with pebble dashing any washing on the line 🤬🤬🤬

We all know what seagulls eat , anything that we happen to be eating. Chips and ice cream are top choice .
In days gone by when eating outside was frowned upon, seagulls would have had to go fishing for their lunch.

I would have distracted GC and talked about the birds, where they live, what they eat etc.

Now if they were seagulls…

I don’t like seeing children chasing birds or any other wildlife. Or worse if they start throwing stones and am always surprised when parents or caregivers dont tell them to stop.

Being chased is frightening. You would not enjoy someone 20 times your size chasing you or your cat or dog. Why encourage this behaviour in a child?

That this happened in the park is irrelevant. It would have been far more responsible to explain to the child not to do this and why.

Furthermore, when animals including humans are frightened they sh*t. Scare one bird or a flock and they will fly away messing over other people if they can gain enough height in time. Or the flock in panic could fly in someone’s face perhaps that of another child or someone infirm. It happens in town and city centres all the time when adults allow children to do this or some adult thinks it's fun to do.

The pigeons have eaten most of my blueberries despite nets.
I spray them with water and they laugh at me.
This is the real world. It's dog eat dog.

argymargy

I’m not keen on children chasing any wildlife. Totally wrong signals. As with all things toddler, it can soon escalate & I’ve seen children trying to actually catch/hit pigeons and making horrendous noises/pretending to shoot them etc. Very unpleasant.

Absolutely this!

I’m not keen on children chasing any wildlife. Totally wrong signals. As with all things toddler, it can soon escalate & I’ve seen children trying to actually catch/hit pigeons and making horrendous noises/pretending to shoot them etc. Very unpleasant.

I have stopped my grandchildren from chasing the birds. I think it’s a bit unkind.

No I don't think you were wrong not to stop your granddaughter.

Where does it end? Can she not go in the garden if there happens to be a pigeon there?

My terrier chases the pigeons all the time, they sit on the nearby house roof every day and watch him.
I think pigeons are fairly robust creatures emotionally.