Officials in charge of the French Open Tennis championships have declared war … on pigeon droppings. They’ve tried the normal uneventful tactics such as a loudspeaker noise to keep the birds off the court and failed. Since they claim the slimy pigeon poo can alter the bounce of the ball on court stronger action is required – in the form of eight falcons with razor sharp talons and a swoop speed of 300km/h – a bit like pitting the No. 1 seed against Frodo from Lord of the Rings.
The falcons are being encouraged to simply scare the pigeons off rather than kill them and the falcon handlers are on duty while the competition is on since they say “pigeons are stupid. They don’t transmit the information to their friends”. Tough talk and so far the pesky pigeons have not been seen dropping their petit surprises everywhere – meaning, they will probably become a bit of a fixture at this event.
