A new project aimed at humanely controlling pigeon populations without having to resort to archaic and cruel means could see a drastic drop in the birds commonly seen as pests, activists have said.
Amy Smith, of animal rights NGO Time for Change said a project being carried out with the Local Councils Association as well as pest control expert Arnold Sciberras will see a targeted feeding programme of contraceptive-laced feed given to pigeons in the coming weeks.
“This is a project we’ve been working on for two years,” Smith said.
“Feeding silos will be set up around Malta and Gozo and will contain feed that has a contraceptive element to it. The pigeons will be fed at these stations on a regular basis and in a routine, so that the pigeons get used to going to the same feeding station at the same time, all the time.”
“Based on the results we’ve seen from other cities, within the first two years of eating this food constantly, the population will drop by up to 80 per cent.”
Pigeon culling has been a controversial topic for many Maltese villages, with local councils sometimes resorting to unconventional and cruel means. While pigeons are generally considered to be pests, the typical solution of shooting the birds dead with air guns has consistently led to public outcry and calls for more humane solutions.
According to a 1997 study by Daniel Haag-Wackernagel at the University of Basel in Switzerland, the lethal control of pigeons is not recommended as it could increase the flock size in a matter of weeks.
Haag-Wackernagel’s study suggests that culling has the effect of rejuvenating the flock by removing older, non-breeding birds and leaving juvenile birds, which breed prolifically, in place.
“When you understand the bird and their breeding process, shooting does very little to actually control the population,” Smith said.
“As pigeons breed all year round, laying two eggs at a time, it only takes about a month for the hatchling to be ready to leave the nest and find its own life partner. The breeding process is constant and continuous.
“If eggs are removed or damaged, they immediately lay two more eggs, and if one life partner is shot, they will find a new life partner, so shooting the odd few pigeons really does nothing to control the actual population.”
The project was developed with feedback from animal welfare authorities in Barcelona, where a successful pigeon contraceptive programme has been running since 2017.
According to a report published in 2020, the feral pigeon population in the city went from 3,801 in 2017 to 1,814 in 2019, with a forecast that the overall population will be reduced by 71.5 per cent in five years. In control areas where contraceptive feed was not being used, authorities estimated that the pigeon population had risen by 11 per cent.
Smith said the project was set to start imminently, with the group currently awaiting the arrival of feed silos from overseas to begin installation.