Two Men from Bird Control Services, Berks County, PA Charged with Felony Animal Cruelty for Killing Pigeons in Pittsburgh. Were They Set Up?

Two Berks County men, Allen Zimmerman and Randall Hoffmaster from Bird Control Services, Wernersville, and two managers Colleen Derbish and Francisco Escalante, of the Frick Building, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania  have all been charged with several felony animal cruelty charges after ten or more pigeons were found dead or dying on a sidewalk.

The pigeons were found on Thanksgiving Day, November 26th, 2020 on a sidewalk in front of the Frick Building by Cheryl Mosco who tried to save three birds who perished before animal control officers arrived.

Zimmerman, owner of the bird control service, stated that “having this large number of pigeons dead and/or dying in one spot is highly irregular.”

According to the complaint filed by Pittsburgh Police Officer Christine Luffey,  she attempted to speak with Derbish but she refused and was told to speak to Escalante who appears to be her supervisor.

Luffey said Escalante was extremely upset and continued to tell her, “the situation was “as waste of time for the police department,” according to the complaint.

He later told an Animal Care and Control officer he’d hired Bird Control Services to put out poison bird feed to keep pigeons off the roof.

He later told Luffey management had stopped the practice and it “is not worth all the scrutiny, hassling and aggravation.”

“He told me,” Luffey wrote, “‘this is a waste of time’ and ‘lesson learned, we’re done.'”

Corn laced with Avitrol was found in the stomachs of the deceased pigeons during the necropsies.     Avitrol is used to poison birds; however, it can have dangerous consequences for other animals as well.

An ordinance in Pittsburgh has made it illegal to kill pigeons.

So the question is why was Bird Control Services from eastern Pennsylvania hired to get rid of pigeons in western Pennsylvania when there are many local pest control services in the Pittsburgh area?

On their website, Bird Control Services shows a video depicting the many humane ways to deter pigeons without the use of poison.  They say have a variety of ways to get rid of your bird problem which includes the use of Avitrol.

Did Zimmerman know that an ordinance was enacted making it illegal to poison the birds?   Why wasn’t any local pest control service contracted to do this job? Was he set up?  Was even told about the ordinance?  I’m not defending the killing of the pigeons but suspicions arise when you look at this objectively.

Escalante admits he hired this company to poison the birds.   I’m sure no one from western Pennsylvania would do the job knowing about the law.

This doesn’t add up.

Frick Building in downtown Pittsburgh

Draxxhall Management Inc. runs the Frick Building and stated they didn’t know Bird Control Services would violate the law.

“At all times, Draxxhall believed that its vendor was operating in accordance with the applicable laws, rules and regulations,” Chief Operating Officer Larry Walsh said via email. “Draxxhall vigorously disputes that any of its employees were knowingly involved in any criminal activity, and looks forward to vigorously defending the charges filed in this matter.”

I know pigeons aren’t loved by all but that doesn’t mean they should be subjected to a death sentence for existing in downtown Pittsburgh.

There are humane ways to get rid of pigeons and we have to utilize these methods as our first line of defense before ever resorting to killing the innocent animals.

Tina Evangelista-Eppenstein is a television talk show host, speaker, writer, and an unabashed animal advocate. Her love for animals and quest for the hard truth is what drives her passion for all things animals. She hosts the television show, “A Close Up Look at Animal Welfare Issues.” She adores her tripawd, Brody, who was a formerly abused pup who lost his leg because of cruelty inflicted upon him. If you’d like Tina to talk to your group or have a story, please email her at tevangelistaepp@yahoo.com. Like https:www.facebook.com/ACloseUpLookatAnimalWelfareIssues and be sure to check out AnimalWelfareIssues.com