Milwaukee bird problem; species federally protected, city says

MILWAUKEE - As hundreds of seagulls infest a Milwaukee property, their stench and squawks disrupting the neighborhood, the city said on Thursday there's not much it can do.

According to a Department of Neighborhood Services spokesperson, the species that has caused a stink is federally protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. While there is a federal permit application for the removal of the birds, the city can't issue an order that forces the property owner to comply.

The north side property off 27th Street is owned by Phoenix Investors and has sat vacant for years. When FOX6 called Phoenix Investors on Wednesday, the property manager said she had no comment.

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Neighbors fed up

Residents told FOX6 the "nuisance birds" have made the abandoned property home for the past few years. The smell and the noise are only getting worse, they said.

"We have schools to the west of us, they smell the feces," resident Shawn Moore said. "This needs to be taken care of."

"If you got the property, and you aren’t going to do anything with it, you should sell it, cause that’s a hazard," said Anthony Burrows, who works at a business next door. "I keep it clean inside and I keep it clean out here too, but those birds are going to be a problem."

It’s a problem Burrows hopes is solved by summer.

"They are a pest," he said. "Something should be done, they shouldn’t be like that."