LONDON - The latest Battle of Trafalgar Square was won yesterday when London Mayor Ken Livingstone succeeded in getting the only licensed seller of pigeon food to agree to leave.
Bernard Rayner, whose family held the licence for 50 years, has appeared in nearly as many holiday photographs around the world as Nelson's column itself.
He swore to fight to the bitter end when the mayor withdrew his licence before Christmas. But the High Court was told yesterday that he had agreed to a compensation payment.
The years of the Rayner family's tenure of the flimsy wooden hut from which the food was sold have seen a huge increase in the pigeon population of the square, where they cause serious damage to historic buildings.
But the row is not yet over. Pigeons fanciers are talking about cruelty and potential starvation.
While the Greater London Authority offers to relocate the pigeons or schemes to reduce fertility, the feathers of England's bird lovers will not be easily smoothed.
- HERALD CORRESPONDENT
Payoff ends Battle of Trafalgar
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