NEW YORK PIGEONS

Grey River Argus, 12 August 1937, Page 9

NEW YORK PIGEONS

Poisoned by Old Woman S.P.C.A. UP IN ARMS. [Aust. & N.Z. Cable Assn.] (Received August 11, 5.5 p.m.) NEW YORK, August 10. A gruesome massacre of a score of city pigeons was perpetrated in the peaceful Verdi Square, in the' heart of Manhatten, by an elderly woman, accompanied by a small dog. She played the part of the poisoner. The woman entered the Square during the morning. She scattered seed there, and then hurried away. The pigeons became distressed within a few minutes after eating the seed, and they desperately flew to puddles, seeking for water. Presently the birds began dying in midflight, their bodies hurtling to earth, where they scattered by the impact, then i blood flecking the plots of glass, and also the statue of the composer, Verdi. It was later discovered that the seed had been impregnated with strychnine, which was calculated quickly to dry the moisture from the body, after which drinking proved immediately fatal. Protests are pouring in from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The police are seeking for the poisoner.

300 POISONED. (Received August 11, 9.15 p.m.) NEW YORK, August 11. Regards the poisoning of pigeons, it is estimated more than three hundred were killed.