A Mill Park pigeon breeder has been issued a temporary permit to keep 38 domesticated birds in his backyard.
Whittlesea council granted Majid Almohammadawe, of Prince of Wales Avenue, a 12-month conditional permit to keep 38 pigeons at his home for breeding and racing.
The council will carry out quarterly inspections to ensure the bird enclosures are maintained satisfactorily so as not to pose a threat to health, become unsightly or offensive, or a nuisance to neighbours.
The matter came before the council following a tip-off from a neighbour last November that Mr Almohammadawe was keeping pigeons. A site inspection revealed more than 50 pigeons were being kept in four enclosures along three boundary fence lines in the backyard. The council advised Mr Almohammadawe to reduce the number of birds to 30 and move the enclosures so they were at least three metres from boundary fences, in order to comply with municipal laws.
He removed three enclosures, relocated one to the rear of the house and submitted a planning application to allow him to keep more than the 30 pigeons as allowed under Whittlesea local laws.
His daughter, Mariym, 20, said her dad had owned pigeons in Iraq and had kept some at their Mill Park home for two years. Her family was unsure who made the complaint as they’d spoken to their neighbours, “who don’t have any problems”.
