Jacob Peter and Jennie Brennan from London Pigeon Rescue set up a makeshift clinic to treat a pigeon suffering from "string foot," a condition where the bird's feet become entangled in human hair and other fibers, causing severe pain and injury. The article highlights how common this issue is for pigeons in Britain due to their habit of walking in circles and ground feeding, making them particularly vulnerable to string foot. Jacob explains that treating the affected areas involves careful removal of hair using antiseptic creams and tweezers to prevent infection and amputation.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-12,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
In London, Jacob Peter and his partner Jennie Brennan, co-founders of London Pigeon Rescue (LPR), are treating pigeons suffering from "string foot," a painful condition where birds' legs get entangled in human hair or synthetic fibers. This operation involves carefully removing the tangled debris that cuts into their skin, causing infections and deformities. For example, after an hour-long procedure to free one bird's legs, it perched on Jacob's shoulder for ten minutes as if thanking him before flying away. The rescue team sets up portable operating tables in parks with antiseptic supplies, tweezers, scissors, and gloves to perform these delicate surgeries aimed at alleviating the pigeons' suffering.
Written for “Pigeon Rescue Efforts” on 2026-10-12,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
On a wooden bench in a park in east London, a little operating theatre is being set up.
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theatre → set → London
Complex surgery is set to begin.
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surgery → set → ?
But first Jacob Peter, the medic, whispers to the bundle swaddled in a green tea towel on his lap.
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Peter → whisper → lap
‘It’s OK, darling.
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It → ’ → ?
This won’t take long.
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This → take → ?
You’re so brave,’ he says giving it a stroke and a little kiss.
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he → ’re → stroke
‘You’re doing so well.
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You → do → ?
I’m going to help you.
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I → go → you
It will stop the pain.’
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It → stop → pain
Then he looks up and talks to me.
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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.’
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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.
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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.
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hen → flap → feet
Like tens of thousands of pigeons in Britain, she is suffering from string foot.
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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.
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toes → tangle → all
While all birds can suffer from it, pigeons, who walk in circles and are ground feeders, are particularly vulnerable.
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who → suffer → circles
Jane Fryer shines a light on the plight of pigeons in Britain that suffer from string foot.
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that → shin → foot
Jane the pigeon was treated by London Pigeon Rescue for the painful condition
Jacob
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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.
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toes → feed → cases
Our little bird has double string foot – which means both feet are damaged.
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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.
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which → see → skin
‘Sometimes, it’s the whole foot.
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it → ’ → ?
‘And then they’re staggering around on stumps.’
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they → stagger → stumps
Not just the very gruesome details about their gangrenous toes – apologies if you are eating your breakfast.
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you → eat → breakfast
But the fact that almost all string foot is caused by hair.
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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.
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that → blow → tumbleweed
Clumps we pull out of hairbrushes and chuck away without thinking.
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we → pull → hairbrushes
Hair we shed as we walk.
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we → shed → ?
Even worse, very few people seem to know about it – I certainly didn’t.
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I → seem → it
And even fewer want to do anything about it.
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fewer → want → it
All battling with tweezers, nail scissors and antiseptic cream against this national epidemic.
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All → battle → epidemic
And also, I’m sorry to say, a barrage of anti-pigeon sentiment.
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I → ’m → sentiment
Because, as Jennie puts it, very few feel neutral about pigeons.
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few → put → pigeons
‘They tend to really love them, like us.
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They → tend → us
Or really, really hate them,’ she says.
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she → hate → them
She’s right.
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She → ’ → ?
But Jennie puts the loathing down to misconceptions, ignorance and pest control propaganda.
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Jennie → put → misconceptions
‘There’s a deeply ingrained belief that they are super spreaders of disease, which is not true.
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which → ’ → disease
You’re more likely to catch something from someone on public transport.
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You → ’re → transport
It’s madness.
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It → ’ → ?
…and 59 more, not listed.
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