A resident of Salt has been fined four times with a total of 800 euros for giving food and water to pigeons in the Plaça de la Llibertat, a practice prohibited by the municipal ordinance. The affected person, Concepció Villalonga, explains that the events date back to spring 2024, when she was caught by security cameras and, according to her account, reported by a neighbor in the area.
Villalonga walked daily through this point of the municipality and there she also fed the birds. In the square there is a sign that expressly prohibits feeding the pigeons, although the neighbor maintains that she had not noticed that signage and that she was unaware of the local regulations.
Two sanctions for food and another two for water
The neighbor received two fines of 200 euros each for giving food to pigeons. Upon paying them a few days later, the amount was reduced to 160 euros per fine. In addition, they have imposed two other fines of 200 euros each for giving water to the birds.
According to her version, during August of last year the municipality's fountains were not flowing water and she left a container so that the pigeons could drink. She also assures that, if she pays these last sanctions within the fixed deadline, a reduction of 80 euros is applied to her on each one.
Claims regarding their economic situation
Villalonga has filed allegations to request, at least, the installment payment. In that letter, she maintains that she is not a repeat offender, that she was unaware of the ordinance, and that she has always tried to comply with municipal regulations. The affected party receives a monthly subsidy of less than 500 euros.
The Salt ordinance prohibits feeding pigeons because it can cause uncontrolled reproduction and because their droppings can generate unsanitary problems and damage buildings and urban furniture. The infraction for feeding these birds can reach 750 euros.
A practice persecuted for years in Salt
The Salt City Council already detected in 2017 at least ten points in the municipality where pigeons were fed and launched a campaign to try to eradicate this behavior. The issue resurfaced last summer, when the La Massana Neighborhood Association publicly denounced that some residents continued to give food to these birds and disseminated images in which people were seen feeding them and birds eating large quantities of bread.
"This practice harms us all" - Massana Residents' Association
The case of Llibertat square once again puts the focus on a sanctionable conduct in Salt and on the economic scope that it can have for whoever breaches a prohibition that the municipality has been trying to curb for years.