Activists denounce that both the plan and the method to sacrifice them is unacceptable.
Pigeons must be one of the animals less beloved than humans we have attracted to our side. The birds that populate European squares they descend of domesticated rock pigeons about 10,000 years ago, so they are unusually relaxed around humans.
But the feeling is not mutual. These gregarious birds tend to cause irritation and disgust in many people, as well as more affectionate instincts in whom they are willing to share their crumbs.
But the pigeon-human relationship has taken a more drastic turn in a German city. Limburg on the Lahnin the state of Hesse, has just voted in favor of exterminating its population of 700 pigeons.
He referendum was celebrated on June 9the same day of european elections, after the council’s decision to kill the birds in November 2023 proved controversial. Something more than 53% of the residents who voted on Sunday approved the sacrifice of the pigeons, reports ‘Der Spiegel’, with a total of 7,530 votes in favor.
How will the Limburg pigeons be killed?
“Today’s result was unpredictable for us. The citizens have made use of their right and have decided that the animals be reduced by a falconer“, declared the mayor, Marius Hahn, to local media.
This was the method initially proposed by the city council last year, and the question posed to voters was simply whether the decision should stand or not. Specifically, the falconer will attract the birds to a traphe will hit them on the head with a wooden stick to stun them and then break their necks.
Animal rights advocates were horrified when the plan was announced. “We live in 2023, we cannot kill animals just because they annoy us or are a nuisance. That is unacceptable,” Tanya Muller, director of the pigeon project for the city of Limburg, told the British channel ‘Sky News’ last year. ‘. The sacrifice will take place in the next two years.
Is pigeon culling an effective way to reduce populations?
Detractors claim that, in addition to cruellos pigeon sacrifices are not really effective, since the remaining birds reproduce and replenish the population. Surprisingly, some studies show that number of pigeons may even increase after a sacrifice.
This is what happened in Basel, in Switzerland, where the pigeon population was around 20,000. From 1961 to 1985, the city slaughtered about 100,000 pigeons a year, but the population remained stable, reports the ‘Local’ news site.
A group called Acción Paloma found a alternative solutionnow known as the “Basel model”, by which Citizens were warned not to feed the animals. Pigeon lofts were also installed so that eggs could be easily removed from them. As a result, Basel’s pigeon population was reduced by 50% within four years.
How else are European cities tackling their pigeon problems?
The Bavarian city of Augsburg has found a similar solution. An animal protection association oversees several pigeon lofts and exchange new eggs for dummies to keep the number of pigeons under control.
Many other German cities are plagued (or blessed, depending on how you look at it) by the cooing of these gray birds. Kaiserslautern is also testing the Augsburg model, with new towers pigeons where the birds are relocated. Pigeon lofts or controlled nesting sites have also been installed in Ludwigshafen, Mainz, Pirmasens and Zweibrücken.
In it United Kingdomas in the rest of the world, we have resorted to birds Raptors for kill the pigeons. But this may mean replacing unsightly excrement with the more gruesome spectacle of corpses.
Are pigeon feeding bans legal?
Other cities have tried to implement food bans, but it has proven controversial. In 2021, the state animal welfare officer in Berlin asked a lawyer and a veterinarian for a legal opinion about feeding pigeons.
They came to the conclusion that Cities can’t ban pigeon feedingand even they are forced to take care of animalsas they are offspring of a neglected domestic speciesnot wild animals.
“Even when there is a shortage of food, urban pigeons lay eggs in large quantities,” the legal opinion states. “Therefore, the Feeding bans do not lead to population declinesbut only to their impoverishment”.
“The animal welfare advisory board of the state of Lower Saxony estimates that the life expectancy of malnourished urban pigeons is two to three years; under healthy conditions, it would be twelve to fifteen years. As French fries and breadcrumbs do not satisfy the needs of pigeons, animals they slowly die of starvation“adds the opinion.
