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Pigeons and birth control?

post #1 of 15
7/30/07 at 7:56pm
Thread Starter 
I really am not sure on what to think about this!!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070730/...lywood_pigeons

I guess if it means they will cut down the population, then they should go for it...but it just seems kinda strange!
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post #2 of 15
7/30/07 at 8:04pm
I love pigeons. I've never understood people's dislike of such a beautiful bird.
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post #3 of 15
7/30/07 at 9:36pm
I'd prefer to see an introduction of predators like most major metro areas have done.
Pigeons would not be the only bird eating from those feeders, and the effect could be disasterous.

Bring in some falcons, they seem to find tall buildings very adequate nest sites.
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post #4 of 15
7/31/07 at 12:01am
We have some peragrin falcons in our downtown area. There used to be a webcam set up to watch them, but the last couple of years they have nested on the same building but out of site of the camera,
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post #5 of 15
7/31/07 at 3:50am
It is better than what the DC Metro system did to the pigeon at several stations here. It is horrendous that they poisoned them and did they think of the possibility of the poison getting into the eco-system. Disgraceful! I understand that overpopulation of the pigeon can cause problems but there has to be a better way. And to leave the dead birds where they fell. Yuck!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...073001805.html

Tricia
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post #6 of 15
7/31/07 at 4:07am
it's certainly less cruel than killing them.

However, I doubt it would really reduce the population in the long run. As long as there is enough garbage and other sources of food out there to feed them, they will reproduce to whatever population their environment will sustain. I doubt that getting a few pigeons on birth control will change that.
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post #7 of 15
7/31/07 at 5:04am
I agree with Marie.

Unless we decide to put BC in EVERYTHING that birds touch, then I doubt it will downsize the population. At that point we run the risk of other species swallowing BC as well.
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post #8 of 15
7/31/07 at 2:28pm
You could probably almost guarantee that the idiots who thought up this lame scheme didn't think about the effect that it could have on other species. Using birds of prey would be a safer and less controversial tactic, not to mention a more natural solution IMO.

Then again, it's Hollywood. I don't mind if it gets pooped on.
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post #9 of 15
8/1/07 at 8:40pm
Sometimes I have to wonder what we humans are doing. Drugging wild animals because they get in the way of OUR lifestyles? Releasing foreign predators into an area because we consider some animal to be a pest? What are we doing? We're completely mucking up ecosystems.

What happens when those pigeons get eaten by other animals? Will the drugs have an effect on them? Could the drugs end up in the human food chain, or end up in the water, out to sea?

If we release predators, what says that they will understand how to balance according to human needs? Will the predator population explode and completely decimate the "pest" population? Could the predator possibly start predating on beneficial organisms once the "pest" population gets low?

I don't understand why humans disrupt STABLE ecosystems, and then get their panties in a knot because ecosystem diversity takes a dip. Something as simple as disposing of your garbage properly and a few building design changes can solve this problem.
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post #10 of 15
8/1/07 at 8:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lemur 6 View Post
Sometimes I have to wonder what we humans are doing. Drugging wild animals because they get in the way of OUR lifestyles? Releasing foreign predators into an area because we consider some animal to be a pest? What are we doing? We're completely mucking up ecosystems.

What happens when those pigeons get eaten by other animals? Will the drugs have an effect on them? Could the drugs end up in the human food chain, or end up in the water, out to sea?

If we release predators, what says that they will understand how to balance according to human needs? Will the predator population explode and completely decimate the "pest" population? Could the predator possibly start predating on beneficial organisms once the "pest" population gets low?

I don't understand why humans disrupt STABLE ecosystems, and then get their panties in a knot because ecosystem diversity takes a dip. Something as simple as disposing of your garbage properly and a few building design changes can solve this problem.

Two points here that you are not considering:

1) Rock doves also known as common pigeons are an introduced species. they are feral domestics.

2) The predators that are being released in these metro areas are native to all of N. America. Peregrine falcons and and Red Tailed hawks that were once very common in the areas they are being released into.

The cities that have released the raptors are showing great results, the birds are finding the tall buildings to be excelllent nest sites and the food supply is plentiful.
Pigeon numbers have dropped in those areas, and the raptor populations are on the rise.
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post #11 of 15
8/1/07 at 9:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lemur
What happens when those pigeons get eaten by other animals? Will the drugs have an effect on them? Could the drugs end up in the human food chain, or end up in the water, out to sea?
I agree with that.

When there are just *too* many there isn't much you can do without harming everything.

Quote:
2) The predators that are being released in these metro areas are native to all of N. America. Peregrine falcons and and Red Tailed hawks that were once very common in the areas they are being released into.

The cities that have released the raptors are showing great results, the birds are finding the tall buildings to be excelllent nest sites and the food supply is plentiful.
Pigeon numbers have dropped in those areas, and the raptor populations are on the rise.
This is the solution I favor as well, if there isn't an exaggeration about the pigeon overpopulation. We have done our darn best to kill off all the raptors, it's nice to give them a wing up for a change. Besides, it's got to be cool to see Peregrines out your window... what a privilege.
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post #12 of 15
8/2/07 at 3:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Arlyn View Post
Two points here that you are not considering:

1) Rock doves also known as common pigeons are an introduced species. they are feral domestics.

2) The predators that are being released in these metro areas are native to all of N. America. Peregrine falcons and and Red Tailed hawks that were once very common in the areas they are being released into.

The cities that have released the raptors are showing great results, the birds are finding the tall buildings to be excelllent nest sites and the food supply is plentiful.
Pigeon numbers have dropped in those areas, and the raptor populations are on the rise.
Predatory birds don't just pop out of anywhere. They have to be taken from somewhere. If we take a few peregrines and relocate them, doesn't that deplete the population where they come from? What happens to their original stable ecosystem?
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post #13 of 15
8/2/07 at 3:57pm
The ones in Seattle were released there from raptor rehab centers, not pulled from the wild, I'd imagine it's the same all over.

No different from the Mexican red wolves that are being reintroduced back into their native areas from captivity.
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post #14 of 15
8/2/07 at 8:59pm
We're lucky enough to still have lots of raptors in Ohio, and rarely do you see anything you'd call a problematic amount of pigeons. I've never seen anything remotely like those giant flocks other cities seem to have anywhere in Ohio, in fact I'd almost say I see more hawks and falcons than pigeons...

Giving BC to pigeons is... ridiculous. And it isn't surprising it came from such a single-minded group as PETA. You'd think someone would stop and consider the digestive tract of a bird, and how much waste they produce, and how much of that waste will end up in our groundwater, where it will proceed to affect many species as well. And the fact that pigeons do have predators, none of which will benefit from birth control hormones.

Stray cats come immediately to mind.

(And before you point out the unlikelihood of the drug seeping into everything, our wastewater is a liquid pharmacy. There are traces of all kinds of drugs in all of our water)
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post #15 of 15
8/2/07 at 11:28pm
Good in theroy /// but a few places have had issues with the actualalitys of it ...
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