Mississippi store owner’s pigeon feeding draws mixed reactions
By Ross Adams
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BYRAM, Mississippi (WAPT) — At a busy shopping center in Byram, a store owner’s practice of feeding pigeons for nearly 20 years has sparked mixed reactions from the community, including concerns from the mayor about the birds’ impact on the area.
“If you take care, I take care of you. So, I trust in God and that’s why I started this. And after that long time, maybe many years, I still continue feeding birds and birds love me. Birds are like a blessing,” said Newton Patel, who feeds the pigeons outside his liquor store.
Mayor Richard White is concerned about the growing number of birds, which he estimates to be around 40,000.
“He was just being friendly to them and the next thing we know, there’s 40,000 of them out there. It’s a bunch. They were everywhere,” White said. “They would land on the power lines and take turns going to eat and everything.”
The mayor said there are also issues with the birds interfering with fans and air conditioning units, leading to requests for people to stop feeding them in the parking lot, where the birds tend to congregate outside a grocery store near the McDonald’s at Siwell and Terry Roads.
“I don’t think they need to be in that parking lot with all the stuff we’ve got going on in our downtown. That’s our downtown area by the way,” White said.
Despite the concerns, some locals, like Carl Bolton and Dennis Smith, are unfazed by the pigeons.
“I’m not speeding through to run them off. But as long as you drive they’ll move. They ain’t gonna get hit,” Bolton said. Smith added, “They don’t bother me and I don’t bother them. so everything’s good.”
Patel remains committed to feeding the birds.
“Birds are a blessing to everyone if you like it. If someone doesn’t like it, I cannot say. But I love birds,” he said.
Over the years, Patel has spent thousands of dollars on birdseed to continue his practice.
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