MORE than 1000 people have signed an online petition asking Tesco to remove bird netting at its North Berwick store

The supermarket brand has come under fire from members of the public after it was revealed that the netting was there to protect customers from bird droppings.

House martin nests are protected by law and it is an offence to remove or interfere with them, but the netting at the store reduces available nesting space in the town.

The online petition has now reached more than 1000 signatures in 24 hours.

It was set up by Carole Fairhurst, who believes that Tesco should remove the netting immediately.

She said: "House martins and swallows are on the red list because they've lost so many places that they can nest so they need to be protected.

"I think [Tesco] should remove it completely.

"The birds travel thousands of miles to come here, people should be thrilled that they are here, not trying to get rid of them.

Backed down

A similar incident occurred at a Tesco store in Norwich three years ago but the company backed down after backlash online.

Members of the public in North Berwick have already shown their anger at the decision and shared their views online.

One said: "What a short-sighted, parochial decision. There are more important things in the world than worrying about some endangered birds messing up your already unsightly supermarket."

Another said: "What harm are they causing… absolutely none… the least a huge brand with a heavy carbon footprint can do is live and let live with nature."

Wildlife TV presenter and conservationist Chris Packham has also shared his views on Twitter.

 

A Tesco spokesperson said: "The netting is in place as a safety and hygiene measure to prevent pigeons from accessing the roof space and dropping faeces onto the customer area below.

"We continue to monitor the measure with our teams."

The petition can be signed at change.org/p/rspb-stop-the-netting-preventing-house-martin-s-nesting-at-north-berwick-tesco