A LEADING author on pigeons has joined the ranks of protesters campaigning against a cull in Trowbridge.

Dr Jean Hansell, author of The Pigeon In History and Images Of The Dove, said Trowbridge should make an example of how to solve the problem using humane methods.

Town councillors will debate later this month whether to sanction a cull to reduce the pigeon flock.

Protesters took to town centre streets before Christmas urging the public to protest against any plans to kill the birds.

Dr Hansell said pigeon flocks had been successfully reduced in the Swiss city of Basle without a single bird being killed, using a combination of pigeon lofts and egg-removal methods.

"This is a worldwide problem. We are talking about New York, Venice, Paris they all have pigeon flocks. It is time for this council to set an example of how to solve the problem using humane methods," she said.

"I am positive pigeons have had a bad press and a lot of claims about them are exaggerated. They do not transmit TB. It is an entirely false claim."

Dr Hansell said pigeons' links with man go back centuries with the birds playing a multitude of roles including sacrificial and symbolic.

"There is no other bird that has played so many roles," she said.

"It is the cousin of the white dove of peace.

"There are people who will be indifferent as to what happens to these birds but a lot of people will behave very passionately."

The Bath-based author is planning to send a protest letter to Trowbridge town clerk Doug Ross in the New Year.

Protesters are planning to return this month armed with placards and petitions to heap further embarrassment on councillors.

A petition signed by animal lovers from across the south west will be handed in at the meeting on January 20.

Persistent pigeon feeders have been blamed for forcing the council's hands.

Cllr Tom James, chair of the town development working group, said if people did not persist in feeding the birds, despite pleas from shop owners and civic leaders, there would be no need for a cull.

He said: "We will be asking West Wiltshire District Council again to take action but they are not keen on prosecuting a couple of pensioners who are causing all the problems."

Food left on the ground is also causing a boom in the rat population with rodents spotted in the town park during the day.