GLAZED OFFICE buildings are on trial in Toronto because of the danger they represent to birds, which have been killed in their thousands as they try to fly to sky, trees or other buildings reflected in mirror-like glass facades.
An unprecedented lawsuit has been brought by two environmental groups – Ecojustice and Ontario Nature – against owners of the shimmering Consilium Place Towers in Toronto, alleging that the complex has been responsible for the deaths of 7,000 birds in the past decade.
The groups claim that this makes it “the most deadly in the entire greater Toronto area” and they have used Canada’s Environmental Protection Act to sue Meknes Properties for discharging a contaminant – light reflected from the glass – that causes harm to animals.
The lawsuit followed failed attempts to reach a settlement. In addition to possible fines under that law, the owners face a maximum fine of $60,000 (€45,840) under the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act for causing distress to birds.
According to Canadian non-profit group Flap (Fatal Light Awareness Program), over one million birds are killed annually in collisions with buildings in Toronto, the majority during spring and autumn migrations. The city is located in a major migratory bird corridor.
The court’s verdict – expected soon – is being keenly awaited by the American Bird Conservancy (ABC), which claims that up to one billion birds are killed annually in the US alone as a result of “collisions” with an increasing number of mirror-glass office blocks.
Since January 2010, designs for new construction and significant renovation in Toronto must be “bird-friendly”. In the US, San Francisco and the state of Minnesota have both passed similar laws and other local governments are considering them as well.
Dr Christine Sheppard, ABC’s bird collisions programme manager, said even small areas of glass can cause fatalities. The amount of glass in the built environment has been rapidly increasing, as new technologies make huge sheets of glass for “picture windows” and skyscrapers.
“Many of us have at one time or another, walked into a glass door, so we know how jarring that is to our bodies just at walking speed. Try to imagine hitting that same pane at 30 miles per hour. It’s not surprising that so many bird collisions prove fatal,” she said.
As part of a US national-level programme to reduce the growing number of bird deaths from collisions with buildings, ABC recently released a booklet, Bird-Friendly Building Designs, which focuses on both the causes of collisions and on the possible solutions.
