Ford employs a hawk in Mexico to keep pigeons away from the factory where it makes over 300,000 vehicles per year

You see, the campus and its thousands of workers have been grappling with a years-long pigeon problem, and all of the droppings and chaos that comes with it. None of the mitigation efforts they tried over the years seemed to work; that is, until the two-foot hawk that the team now lovingly refers to as El Charro stepped (or rather, flew) in.

El Charro’s job is simple: scare away any avian offenders that may venture onto the property, lest they loiter and nest, leaving a path of destruction in their wake. And destruction isn’t a hyperbole here, as innate and even beloved as pigeons may be in our urban environments.

Clogged machinery, acidic droppings and more

As sprawling and airy as a factory or warehouse may be — Ford’s plant, for example, spans more than 12 million square feet and produces a whopping 300,000 vehicles per year — the 4,800 pounds of waste produced by just 100 pigeons in a year adds up quickly.

Beyond posing an obvious safety hazard, potentially exposing nearby humans to a host of bacteria and diseases, bird excrement is extremely corrosive and capable of physically damaging metals ranging from manufacturing equipment to car exteriors.

Their feces, feathers and nesting materials are also known to clog vents and drains, which, if left unaddressed, leads to pricey structural damage.

It’s why Ford is far from the only industrial player turning to natural modes of pest management. It’s not rare to see birds of prey patrolling resorts, vineyards, farms, landfills, airports, concert venues, food processing facilities and more.

But, as the Wall Street Journal notes, in America, these services don’t come cheap or easy. First, a company has to find a handler with a valid State Master Falconer licence to supply a working bird, and then ensure they also have federal authorization to use the animal to ward off unwanted guests, known as a Special Purpose Abatement permit.

In Mexico, though, acquiring feathered security staffers is less complicated — and, according to personnel at the Ford site, it definitely works.

“It has given very good results,” one worker told the news outlet.