Wee (fifth left) and others pose next to a ‘No Bird Feeding’ signboard in front of Electra House.

KUCHING: Kuching North City Commission (DBKU) is discouraging the public from feeding wild birds around the city centre.

Commission member Datuk Wee Hong Seng said these birds, especially pigeons, bring about many problems to the shops and businesses in the area, particularly around Electra House.

“The building owners complained that the buildings are dirty due to bird droppings brought about by the increase in the bird population.

“This is because the public has been feeding the wild birds, an act which also attracts other vermin like rats,” he said during a ‘No Bird Feeding’ media visit at Jalan Khoo Hun Yeang yesterday.

Wee urged the public to stop feeding the wild birds so that Kuching can remain a clean, beautiful and safe city.

“We are doing this for the benefit of everyone. We are not killing or chasing the birds away; we just don’t want the public to feed them. With this method, we hope the birds will migrate away from the town area.”

He added that although there are those who think the birds are an attraction to the area, their presence should not affect people’s living.

“For DBKU, we are people-centric – putting the people first,” he said.

During the visit, DBKU erected five ‘No Bird Feeding’ signboards – one in front of Electra House, two at Jalan Gambier and two at Masjid India.

Meanwhile, Wes Wong, who is a business owner at Jalan Khoo Hun Yeang/Jalan Gartak, said the birds themselves were not really the problem except that their numbers have grown so much, resulting in droppings everywhere.

“Every day, I have to clean the shop area, especially when many customers complain about the bird droppings everywhere.

“This is bad because it not only affects my business but also other businesses as it dirties the environment. Some of the tourists coming to the area have also had bird droppings land on them,” said Wong, who thanked DBKU for noticing their plight and putting up the ‘No Bird Feeding’ signboards in the area.