Print
E-mail
Share
digg
Newsvine
Facebook
Stumble
Technorati
reddit
Fark
twitterLAS VEGAS AT LARGE:
Pigeons are his mark, the city his foe
Man willing to take war with NLV over bird biz to TV, the Web or court
Leila Navidi
Wes Johnson, pigeon control agent, left, and Nephi Oliva, the director of field operations for Nevada Pigeon Control, look for stray pigeons inside an industrial space in North Las Vegas Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2009.
Thursday, Oct. 29, 2009 | 2 a.m.
Sun Archives
- Man shooting pellets at pigeons prompts school lockdowns (2-5-2009)
- Family files suit alleging exposure to pigeon poison (12-3-2009)
- Pigeon problem a mess for homeowners (10-6-2003)
- Housing panel hears pigeon-trapping pitch (9-21-1999)
- Local man traps and sells the birds (9-20-1999)
Beyond the Sun
Nephi S. Oliva is a man of many passions. Chief among them, at the moment, are pigeons.
That would be the removal, incarceration and occasional execution of pigeons from various residential, governmental and casino properties, which is Oliva’s livelihood. Clients pay him to chase pigeons off with tennis balls and clicking noise makers, to dazzle them with strobe lights, trap them in giant cages and sometimes to climb into the bucket of a cherry picking truck and shoot them dead with an air gun.
But even more than his work, Oliva is obsessed with his increasingly operatic battles with North Las Vegas City Hall, which he says is trying to drive him out of the pigeon business. It’s a fight he is frequently driven to describe in coarse terms. For the sake of any children who might be reading a newspaper in 2009, offensive words will be replaced with educational bird-related terms.
Oliva vows that he is going win in criminal court, win in civil court and persuade the attorney general’s office to open investigations into various city officials who have meddled with his pigeon business. He pseudonymously blogs about his ongoing battle at pigeonreport.blogspot.com.
Also, he says, “I plan on going on ‘America’s Got Talent’ next year and winning the show just to bring attention to this.”
In fact, Oliva is developing his own reality television series called “The Pigeon Police.” The theme of the show, Oliva says, will be “an ex-bounty hunter takes his team to prove that they have solved the pigeon problem in one of the most famous cities in the world.” North Las Vegas will play the villain. Thanks to Oliva’s songwriting prowess, it has a theme song, which begins with the lyrics “Yeah, we’re the pigeon five-oh ... and we rollin.’ ”
(Away from pigeons, Oliva writes Mormon pop tunes, including “Elder Teddy,” a song about a teddy bear that likes to go on missions. Oliva also sells “Elder Teddy” teddy bears and a book. He came to inspirational music after he was excommunicated from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for the second time for, he says, “all the times I used my music for manipulating girls.” He’s since renounced his Lothario ways.)
Oliva’s company, Nevada Pigeon Control, specializes in driving off, capturing or killing pigeons, with most birds being trapped and relocated and only the remaining 10 percent or so being shot with air guns. “We obviously have to have these tools because the (Columbidaen) things can fly,” Oliva says.
And when he says the city’s actions could put him out of business, he does have a point. City spokeswoman Brenda Fischer says that because his business is in a commercially zoned neighborhood instead of a neighborhood zoned as open land or ranch estates, he can’t keep an aviary on site. And because he doesn’t have an aviary, is not allowed to release pigeons into the wild, and lacks the permits to euthanize pigeons, the city has advised him to cease removing pigeons. Fischer says the city has had several meetings with Oliva to help bring his business into compliance with city laws.
Oliva’s recollection of those meetings?
“They quietly went into the backroom and said, ‘We’re going to shut that (birder) down,’ ” he says.
So now when Oliva and his employees remove pigeons, they put them in a secret mobile cage “somewhere in Henderson.”
Oliva alleges that the city is attacking his business because if he eliminates pigeon problems in North Las Vegas, the city will lose out on millions of dollars in health and safety fines on properties with excessive pigeon droppings. (The city denies this.) He claims that officials in the police, animal control, planning and zoning, business license and building safety departments constitute a “shakedown squad.” And then he says Mayor Shari Buck is complicit in corruption and that he will ensure she loses in her next election.
“I sent her one of the most scathing letters a politician can get,” Oliva says.
Asked to respond, Fischer said Oliva “is very passionate about the work that he does and that’s terrific.”
Oliva says his path is clear.
“I’m going to sue their (cloacae) off.”
Discussion: 27 comments so far…
Post a comment
- Most Read
- Discussed
- Most E-mailed
- Police: 3 arrested in officer’s death have gang ties
- Corrections officer with Metro killed in U.S. 95 crash
- System fails to catch contractor’s family tie with county
- Where to watch UFC 106
- Fontainebleau contractors say sales process is flawed
- UNLV and Southern Illinois will be guarded tonight
- SEC sues former gaming exec for alleged insider trading
- Station Casinos, lenders agree to rent decrease at 4 properties
- Findlay guard Joseph scores 33, talks about UNLV
- Bishop Gorman takes Sunset Region title in win over Cimarron
Blogs
The Kats Report
For props, Lewis Black needs only his manic delivery and torrid material (3 Comments)
Elsewhere
Sands China raises $2.5 billion in Hong Kong IPO (1 Comment)
Marquardt v. Sonnen scheduled for UFC 109
Bloggity, Bloggity, Bloggity
Will a fourth consecutive title by Jimmie Johnson be good or bad for NASCAR? (3 Comments)
Top Chef: Las Vegas
The Jet Stream: And then there were four
Top Chef Episode 12: On keeping it simple
Miech Again
Chilly start for Chace, but Stanback says he'll warm up (2 Comments)
- Live chat
- Tuesday, noon PST
- Chat with Krista Creelman
- Problem Gambling Center executive director Krista Creelman will answer questions about gambling addiction from Las Vegas Sun readers from noon to 1 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. ... Submit question
Calendar »
- 22 Sun
- 23 Mon
- 24 Tue
- 25 Wed
- 26 Thu
-
UFC 106 at Mandalay Bay Events Center
Mandalay Bay Events Center | 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.
-
Julio Iglesias at the Las Vegas Hilton
Las Vegas Hilton
-
Natasha Wicks hosts at Hawaiian Tropic Zone
Hawaiian Tropic Zone | 10 p.m. to 11:59 p.m.
-
Tito Ortiz hosts at Tao
Tao | 10 p.m. to 11:59 p.m.
-
Hiroshima at Santa Fe Station
Santa Fe Station
-
Frank Mir hosts at LAX
LAX Nightclub | 10 p.m. to 11:59 p.m.
-
The Four Tops at The Orleans Showroom
Orleans Hotel-Casino
-
Amir Sadollah hosts at Prive
Prive | 10 p.m. to 11:59 p.m.
The Sun
Locally owned and independent for more than 50 years.
Interesting story. In illinois the illinois department of public health plays the same games. They make $4 million dollars per year for their department making up fake citations and putting small startup companies out of business to protect the big ones that give to political campaigns.
I hope the truth comes out. Oliva is doing a worth while public service. Either the city should recognize that or they should take over pigeon removal and stop issuing tickets.
Don't let the word out too far or we'll be having a "Pigeon Czar".
"THE ONLY GOOD PIGEON IS A DEAD PIGEON"
Let's get back to the part where he manipulated girls.
any ex-mormon cant be all bad.
I just buy cb shorts for my .22 rifle and take care of the mexican chickens myself
Comment removed by staff.
wow, i don't like any of it, he's getting paid as an exterminator, but feels bad enough about it to try to save some of them by caging them for the rest of their lives, but doesn't have a problem killing most of them.
what harm are birds doing in the dump? what harm really are they doing anyway anywhere?
i can't wrap my head around this one, he's a total contradiction
You have to understand that we never got involved in pigeon control as exterminators. We are a humane society (part of the ASPCP) that provides alternatives to lethal traps and poisons. We sometimes face difficult decisions in clearing conflict birds from an area - a process that people and business are required by law to perform when populations are out of control. Mankind should NEVER exercise unrighteous dominion over the animals in our care. Steps should always be taken to preserve all life with the utmost respect. If you took the time to get to know our organization better, you would quickly see that we are doing more to prevent cruelty to pigeons than any other organization, including PETA. I'm more than happy to address ANY of your concerns about our program. I'm sure you will find that we have taken the best path possible.
well...if you had pigeons dumping in your back yard...inside your pool..and on the play equipment you children climb on you would feel otherwise psychobird. Pigeon feces can make you very ill.
no they don't and in fact i rehab and release ferals all the time, you need to educate yourself on facts not myth
and don't eat poop
pigeon police although i really like your statement, and it sounds wonderful, why are birds being shot?
uhmm...I have to clean the dung from around my pool and jacuzzi on a daily basis...so yes they do. The few I have shot with my .22 Remington haven't returned though.
redneck why don't you try to figure out why they are hanging out by your pool and prevent them from perching in those areas instead, they will just have larger broods to make up for the lost ones
PsychoBird, it is our official policy that lethal methods like air guns are only used when one or more of the following criteria is met: 1) All other attempts at capture have failed, 2) the animal is visibly sick or impaired, or 3) the bird is determined to be an alpha male.
I promise you we are in a constant state of development for methods that eliminate the use of air rifles in our operations (which currently only accounts for 5%-10% mortality). Most animal shelters for cats and dogs are over 50%! Air guns are our only real area of liability and we are hoping to one day eliminate their use completely.
In order to attain control of an area, 100% of the resident birds must be removed from the environment. The reason pest control has failed to control pigeons in the last hundred years is because the methods they use DO NOT remove the reproductive core of the resident flocks. Pigeons are an especially challenging animal to deal with because they have the ability to simply fly away to avoid capture. Air rifles are the only way we can "level the playing field" a bit and achieve our operational objectives. Air rifles cannot solve pigeon problems because birds simply avoid you once a few are shot; so air rifles have limited use in dealing with "stragglers" and THAT'S IT.
I think you would be very excited to hear about our patented Pigeon-Saver capture systems, but even with those, we are still looking at 5% mortality with air rifles.
Please stay on the story because I assure you we are making more headway than anyone with giving pigeons a fair deal. As the years progress, we will improve our operations and one day, we will have our 10 acre pigeon park where all the conflict birds can go and vacation the rest of their lives, free of poisons, traps, hungry cats and mean, misguided people. But these things take time to build so please be patient.
are any birds allowed to exist and live free in your area?
i guess i can't get past my own feelings that they should be left alone, and education and prevention from roosting should be the first priority.
as you know they are a very misunderstood animal, and most peoples beliefs about disease and such are completely misguided and not factual.
PsychoBird,
We are in the process of fund raising with the ASPCP to build the Clark County Pigeon Park, a 10-acre enclosed aviary for conflict birds in Clark County. Our challenges with North Las Vegas have caused some delays because they forced us to close down our intake facility where birds were screened and medicated. We do not believe in "incarcerating" all pigeons; we only deal with what we call "conflict birds". Trust me, the birds are very comfortable in sanctuaries. Our pigeon park will be built to mimic their natural environment of rocks and cliff sides, not buildings and air conditioning units.
While I understand your feelings, please try to look at the big picture... Not regulating populations or "leaving them alone" is what created the issue of over-population in the first place. Pigeon control must be about population control and nothing else right now. Not checking populations means there will be more birds and more people doing desperate things (poisons, BB guns, etc) to try and deal with the problem.
The best thing for our community is to have one agency managing pigeon populations in Nevada. Only that will put an end to the problem and the cruelty.
they are flying rats
Cryptococcosis is a fungal disease that can be associated with pigeon droppings. This disease is also found in soils around the world. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), healthy people with healthy immune systems are not likely to become infected with Cryptococcosis, even at high levels of exposure. On the other hand, people with compromised immune systems may have a higher risk of infection with this disease. This may happen when a person breathes in dry fungus spores that are airborne
Histoplasmosis is a disease caused by fungus that may grow in pigeon droppings. It is also found in soils around the world. High exposure to this fungus can cause infection. This may happen when a person breathes in dry fungus spores that may become airborne when cleaning pigeon droppings. It's important to note, however, that infection usually only occurs from high exposure to the fungus.
As a general rule, those most likely to contract zoonotic diseases associated with pigeon droppings are the extremely young, the extremely old and those with compromised immune systems. At the same time, not cleaning out your backyard with dog poop will have a much more serious effect in a much shorter time.
We aren't suggesting pigeon droppings are safe for consumption; however, we are not perpetuating the self-serving propaganda the pest control industry has published in an attempt to scare up business.
The fact is, we have an over-population of pigeons and it needs to be addressed. Pest control moves the problem from paying customer to paying customer. Nevada Pigeon Control removes them completely from the environment.
One works... the other doesn't.
Thanksgiving is approaching..maybe the day laborers can cart some of the pigeons off.
Not such a foreign idea... pigeons were originally brought here as a food source. In fact, pigeons were the last act of defiance of a defeated British nation... as they got on their boats, tails tucked between their legs, their general said in defiance, "release the pigeons" and sailed back to England.
We have never been the same since...
Until less than 60 years ago these birds were revered, have been human's constant companion, and even served in the US military to send messages from the front, saving troops lives. Cher Ami saved 200 lives in WWI and received a medal by the French Army.
Pigeons are also doves, a well-known symbol of peace.
Pigeon Police, where in the world did you come up with that "release the pigeons" tale?
I have shot a lot of mourning dove..good eating
Hey Goose... that was a joke... And by the way... their service continues today... We use them in our operations constantly to help us find the alpha males.
I suppose we should educate ourselves to help the preservation of rats and roaches also. Kill Em all!