On a wooden bench in a park in east London, a little operating theatre is being set up.
asserted
theatre → set → London
Complex surgery is set to begin.
asserted
surgery → set → ?
But first Jacob Peter, the medic, whispers to the bundle swaddled in a green tea towel on his lap.
asserted
Peter → whisper → lap
‘It’s OK, darling.
asserted
It → ’ → ?
This won’t take long.
asserted
This → take → ?
You’re so brave,’ he says giving it a stroke and a little kiss.
asserted
he → ’re → stroke
‘You’re doing so well.
asserted
You → do → ?
I’m going to help you.
asserted
I → go → you
It will stop the pain.’
asserted
It → stop → pain
Then he looks up and talks to me.
asserted
he → look → me
‘I always introduce myself before I start and explain what I’m doing because I think it might be calming for them.’
uncertain
it → introduce → them
Jacob is about to operate on a small female pigeon that Jennie Brennan, his partner and co-founder of London Pigeon Rescue (LPR), has just scooped from the scrubby grass.
asserted
Brennan → operate → grass
While the rest of the flock were busy flapping and cooing and pecking and pooing, this little hen – probably about four years old – looked all wrong; struggling and unsteady on her feet.
asserted
hen → flap → feet
Like tens of thousands of pigeons in Britain, she is suffering from string foot.
asserted
she → suffer → foot
Which is a horribly painful condition where a bird’s toes and feet become tangled in fibres – everything from artificial thread to dental floss and wool, but most of all human hair.
asserted
toes → tangle → all
While all birds can suffer from it, pigeons, who walk in circles and are ground feeders, are particularly vulnerable.
asserted
who → suffer → circles
Jane Fryer shines a light on the plight of pigeons in Britain that suffer from string foot.
asserted
that → shin → foot
Jane the pigeon was treated by London Pigeon Rescue for the painful condition
Jacob
asserted
Jane → treat → condition
Peter feeds a small female pigeon with Jennie Brennan, his partner and co-founder of LPR, by his side
As they move, the tourniquet tightens and tightens, slicing into the skin until it bleeds and becomes infected, cutting off the circulation, causing the foot to become deformed and, in very severe cases, the toes go black and fall off.
asserted
toes → feed → cases
Our little bird has double string foot – which means both feet are damaged.
asserted
feet → have → foot
They are red and swollen and you can see where hair has cut deep into the skin which bulges angrily either side.
asserted
which → see → skin
‘Sometimes, it’s the whole foot.
asserted
it → ’ → ?
‘And then they’re staggering around on stumps.’
asserted
they → stagger → stumps
Not just the very gruesome details about their gangrenous toes – apologies if you are eating your breakfast.
asserted
you → eat → breakfast
But the fact that almost all string foot is caused by hair.
asserted
foot → cause → hair
Human and artificial hair that blows out of the doors of hairdressers and barbers and scatters down the streets like balls of tumbleweed.
asserted
that → blow → tumbleweed
Clumps we pull out of hairbrushes and chuck away without thinking.
asserted
we → pull → hairbrushes
Hair we shed as we walk.
asserted
we → shed → ?
Even worse, very few people seem to know about it – I certainly didn’t.
asserted
I → seem → it
And even fewer want to do anything about it.
asserted
fewer → want → it
All battling with tweezers, nail scissors and antiseptic cream against this national epidemic.
asserted
All → battle → epidemic
And also, I’m sorry to say, a barrage of anti-pigeon sentiment.
asserted
I → ’m → sentiment
Because, as Jennie puts it, very few feel neutral about pigeons.
asserted
few → put → pigeons
‘They tend to really love them, like us.
asserted
They → tend → us
Or really, really hate them,’ she says.
asserted
she → hate → them
She’s right.
asserted
She → ’ → ?
But Jennie puts the loathing down to misconceptions, ignorance and pest control propaganda.
asserted
Jennie → put → misconceptions
‘There’s a deeply ingrained belief that they are super spreaders of disease, which is not true.
asserted
which → ’ → disease
You’re more likely to catch something from someone on public transport.
asserted
You → ’re → transport
It’s madness.
asserted
It → ’ → ?
…and 59 more, not listed.
The Aporia
