Save The Pigeons

COO DE GRACE
`Save the pigeon` says Grace slick. On her own head be it...

Turning on, tuning in and dropping out was all well and good for the flower children of the Sixties, but GRACE SLICK, the original hippy chanteuse, says drugs are a no-no for a section of today's New York population- it's pigeons!

The Jefferson Airplane singer is lobbying the New York mayor's office, angry at the city's pest control department using the chemical Avitrol in it's fight against the flying menace.

Slick claims the pesticide triggers hallucinations in pigeons and sparrows. Whereas mind-altering drugs have often been said to make people believe they can fly and jump off buildings, the effect on our feathered friends is that they forget they can fly and crash into buildings.

The singer, perhaps best known for the Sixties hit, "White Rabbit", in which she wittered on about little girls beinf 10-feet tall, has so far taken her campaign to several newspapers and cable TV stations, citing her "considerable expertise on the subject of mind-altering drugs".

And now you can read the letter she sent to the mayor, whcih appeared in Harper's magazine.

Dear Mayor Giuliani:

Friends of Animals has enlisted my aid in their campaign against the use of Avitrol to poison birds in New York City. Avitrol suppliers expect to the public to believe that their drug causes mild hallucinations and hyperactivity, which frighten away other pigeons and sparrows. Their logic, like their product,is hard to swallow.

I have considerable expertise on the subject of mind-altering drugs, and I can tell you that Avitrol is not your run-of-the-mill hallucinogen. It causes violent shaking, trembling, thirst, nausea, convulsions, disorientation and a slow death. Wow, talk about a bad trip!

Whoever dreamed up the plan to spike this abominable drug into feed for pigeons, sparrows and other birds is clearly out of their mind. It doesn't take much imagination to come up with other methods to keep birds from roosting if one is so inclined. Nylon netting and metal spikes are humane and effective alternatives.

Friends of Animals is calling for a ban on Avitrol and the killing of pigeons, house sparrows and starlings. I hope that you will use your influence to assist this effort. The time has come to kick the Avitrol habit.

Sincerely .
Grace Slick