Why Lethal Control Fails to SucceedScientific research* has proved conclusively that all lethal methods of control are totally ineffective in the medium and long-term reduction of pigeon numbers. In areas where lethal control operations have been carried out there will be seen to be an initial short-term reduction in numbers. Within a matter of weeks, however, pigeon numbers will have increased to pre-cull figures and in most cases will have exceeded them. This is because killing adult pigeons in a feeding flock favours the younger birds that would otherwise have a poorer chance of survival. Many older non-breeding birds are removed during these culling operations and the younger healthy breeding stock remains in situ. The facts themselves demonstrate quite clearly that lethal control cannot be seen as a viable method of reducing flock size under any circumstances. Quite simply, it is completely ineffective as a control option. Pigeons control their own numbers very effectively according to the volume of food available to them. An adult pair of pigeons will usually breed up to 4-6 times a year but can breed more frequently in optimum conditions, producing 2 young each time. If, however, the food supply is dramatically reduced and there is only enough food to support the existing flock, adult birds may only breed once or twice or possibly not at all. Pigeons will not produce young if there is insufficient food to support them. If, however, the food supply increases for any reason (following a cull for example) pigeons will breed continuously until the flock reaches the point where it is fully exploiting the food available to it. In other words there is a minor population explosion each time a cull takes place and the end result is an estimated 10% increment in flock size over and above the pre-cull figure. Commercial values have now overtaken good working practice in the commercial pest control sector and this has inevitably resulted in much larger numbers of so-called pest species as a direct result of the industry putting greed and profit before client’s needs. Lethal control will only ever succeed in dealing with the problem itself rather than the source of the problem and the source of the problem, in the case of the pigeons, is more often than not people deliberately and persistently feeding the birds. It can be deduced from this that overpopulation of pigeons is more of a ‘people problem’ than a ‘bird problem’ and must be tackled accordingly. If the public could be persuaded to cease or cut down on their pigeon feeding activities, and if local authorities were to clamp down on fast food refuse, these measures alone would see a dramatic decrease in pigeon numbers in any given area without the need for any other control option. . In the main, the pest control industry has created a niche for itself by recommending lethal control options to its target client base. It comes as no surprise, therefore, to find that the USA and the UK have greater problems with pigeons (and other so-called pest species) than any other country worldwide. This is because the pest control industry in the USA and the UK is hugely rich and powerful, pumping out huge volumes of propaganda each year in an effort to terrify people into thinking that they need to control pigeons and other species of feral birds. The industry always recommends control options that it knows will fail to resolve the problem it is brought in to resolve (in many cases exacerbating and compounding the problem) and as a result creating what amounts to a job for life.
|