I Love Birds
Is feeding garden birds and putting up ‘I Love Birds’ sign in front of house antisocial?
TEN months ago, a 97-year-old widow, a retired piano teacher, was threatened by the local council with a Community Protection Notice (CPN) and a £100 fine if she does not cease from her antisocial behaviour.
In the UK, antisocial behaviour (ASB) is defined by the authorities as “behaviour by a person which causes, or is likely to cause, harassment, alarm or distress to persons not of the same household as the person”.
A CPN, meanwhile, is aimed at stopping a person over the age of 16 from committing ASB which spoils the community’s quality of life.
So, you ask, what is this elderly widow’s antisocial behaviour that might earn her a criminal conviction (if she does not comply with the CPN)?
According to her, she was feeding sparrows and robins in her garden, something she took pleasure in as she watched the wild birds from her conservatory.
Abandoned pigeons
At the centre of the complaint, however, was the pigeons and seagulls attracted to the…