Plume Café in Matakana (formerly Brookview Tea House) is famous for its gorgeous white doves and landmark dovecote. So it was a massive shock when a health inspector recently decreed that the doves had to go, and advised that poisoned seed be used to kill them all. Kind hearted owners Clyde and Farida Cooper simply couldn’t bear to kill the lovely doves, as they’d become very fond of them. They asked if we could help. We set up a capture pen last week, and yesterday we captured all but four of the doves. Now we’re looking for homes for these beautiful, low-maintenance birds, and would like to place them in groups of 4 – 6 (or more depending on conditions). They eat seed, and won’t bother your fruit trees or grape vines like other birds. You’ll need an aviary for their new home. Because doves are like homing pigeons, they need to be kept in their new aviary for 6 weeks. That resets their brain to their new home. After that you can leave the door open, and they’ll always come back. All we ask is that you practice birth control! Check the nests once a week to remove any eggs, and replace them with small plastic eggs. This means you won’t have any increase in numbers, which is responsible management. Feed the doves seed each morning and they won’t compete with our native birds. You’ll love seeing these beautiful white doves every day, and I think their “coo” is one of the most soothing sounds in nature. If you’re willing to adopt some doves, please contact Shawn on 09-422-7322 or email animalsanctuary@xtra.co.nz Please SHARE widely so that we can find homes for these peaceful doves.