A project meant to solve a bird-dropping problem beneath an overpass in Bayonne, New Jersey, instead triggered accusations of animal cruelty after dozens of pigeons were trapped behind newly installed netting, with residents saying some birds died before crews could get them out.
News 12 New Jersey reporter Chris Keating documented the situation beneath the 8th Street overpass, where the city had installed tightly fitted black netting to keep pigeons from nesting and reduce the buildup of droppings on the sidewalk below, but residents and animal advocates said the barriers were secured before all of the birds had been removed.
When Keating visited the site, he found local resident Darlene Dynega trying to push bird seed through the netting to reach pigeons still trapped inside the structure…