Bin those chickens! Childcare centre is ‘infested’ with ibis that poo where the kids play – but the council is refusing to help
- Childcare centre has been taken over by swarms of ibis birds
- The Cubbyhouse Pre-school in Menai has to pay for cleaners
- The birds leave their droppings ‘everywhere’ and it stinks
A childcare centre has been swamped by a flock of ibis, with desperate staff demanding the local council come up with a solution.
The protected species – known colloquially as ‘bin chickens’ – has posed a health and safety risk to children at the Cubbyhouse Pre-school in Menai in Sydney’s south for the past three years.
They gather around the grounds, leaving their poo ‘everywhere’ where children play and causing an ‘horrendous’ stench, say centre staff.
Images from the centre’s grounds show the birds flying about, picking through the grass and sitting in line upon line on top of the school’s roof.
Other photos revealed the extent of the damage their droppings have caused, staining footpaths and outdoor seats at the centre.
The ibis gather around the pre-school grounds (pictured) leaving their poo ‘everywhere’ where children play and babies crawl around – and there is a ‘horrendous’ stench
Katherine Frankland from the childcare centre said they have to pay for pressure washers every week to clean the filth (pictured) left over by the birds
Ms Frankland said the Sutherland Shire Council have offered no workable solution (pictured, birds gathered at the centre)
The birds are protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 as they are native and cannot be removed from the area nor have their habitats destroyed, the Sutherland Shire Council has said.
Katherine Frankland, the director at the pre-school said the problem has been going on for three years.
‘They roost all in the trees above the service, so the next morning we come in and there’s just poo everywhere,’ Ms Frankland told Yahoo News Australia.
‘We have to clean that before the kids can go outside because babies crawl around.
‘We have to pay for pressure washers to come in two, three times a week — but the birds come back at night.’
She added: ‘We just can’t afford to keep doing that because we’re a not-for-profit service.’
‘Our funds should be going to supporting these vulnerable families we help support, but instead we’re paying to clean the yard.’
She said the centre has had to pay $300 each week to clean the mess, and said the council have offered no workable solution.
It has suggested cutting back overhanging branches from trees that are not allowed to be removed, but Ms Frankland said it didn’t do anything to help.
It comes after another childcare facility next door was shut down due to the bird problem which made it unaffordable for its staff to keep running.
Dying Ibis birds have also been an issue for staff who are then forced to transport them to the vet to be euthanised.
Ms Frankland said her main priority is the safety of the children but the ibis problem is also draining the centre’s staff resources.
One employee has to be on hand to monitor the mess the birds create day after day, removing a valuable worker from the kids’ education programme.
The director asked ‘what has to give’ for the centre to provide a safe and clean environment for the kids.
One employee has to be on hand to monitor the continuing mess the birds create (pictured) day after day
The native ibis (pictured) are protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974
She added the centre has been forced to up its prices in part due to the birds.
Shire Animal Rescue suggested the school use various methods to help control the bird population including using a green laser, spotlights or a faux hawk.
But Ms Frankland said those techniques have not worked.
She said she didn’t want the birds to be exterminated but called on the council to provide support and alternative measures that work.
The Sutherland Shire Council was contacted by Daily Mail Australia for comment.
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