UK Pigeon Control Fails — Humane Fix Exists
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- UK councils have deployed lasers, hawks, spikes, glue, and shooting to control pigeon populations, spending significant resources with little long-term success.
- National Pigeon Advocacy Association (NPAA), led by Sue Joyce, promotes the 'German method' of using decoy eggs in pigeon lofts to reduce breeding without harming birds.
- PiCAS (UK Pigeon Control Advisory Service) notes that a single loft with 50 pairs of pigeons could prevent over 1,000 young from being born annually through egg replacement.
- Basel, Switzerland reduced its pigeon population by 50% over four years using the decoy-egg method starting in 1988, a strategy later adopted in Augsburg and other European cities.
- Norwich city council says it is considering humane, legal measures for pigeon control but has not committed to the NPAA’s proposed loft-and-decoy program.
- Sue Joyce argues that pigeons, domesticated and abandoned by humans, now suffer from uncontrolled breeding and poor diets, making intervention a moral obligation.
Why it matters: Cities spend heavily on ineffective and often cruel pigeon control, while a low-cost, proven method exists that reduces populations humanely. Adopting it could save taxpayer money, end lethal tactics, and shift urban wildlife policy toward sustainability—especially as public sentiment increasingly favors compassion for pigeons.
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