Bid to repel swallows ends in sticky tragedy

Nearly fifty swallows had to be put down after a bid to repel them from a Nelson building went wrong. File photo / Thinkstock

A bid to repel swallows from a building in Nelson has led to the distressful deaths of nearly 50 birds.

The swallows had to be put down after being trapped in a sticky repellent named Hot Foot.

Many of the birds had their wings stuck to their bodies, their bodies stuck to one another, and leg injuries, SPCA senior inspector Craig Crowley told the Nelson Mail.

The birds were found at the back entrance to a St Vincent St building where swallows roosting on pipes caused problems.

Despite people considering swallows to be pests, it was unnecessary to cause that suffering and harm, Mr Crowley said.

Vet Callum Irvine, who euthanased the birds, believed the method of application, not the product, was the problem.

A bird making contact with it and feeling it was getting stuck would warn other birds. But in this case it seems it was used deliberately in a way to trap the animals.

The occupants of the building said they would not use Hot Foot again.

- NZPA