Symbols of Peace Becomes Life Threatening
It is said that feeding birds brings ‘punya’ or ‘merit’; what use is accumulating merit for the next life when in this life the lungs have lost the capacity to function effectively.
Probably, not enough has been done to spread the information that Pigeons are dangerous for human health. Their feeding facilities at street junctions, on terraces and in parks must stop immediately.
The Municipality should put up posters in Hindi and Urdu everywhere warning of the health hazards associated with the activity. It is unfortunate that the poor who earn a little bit are being exposed to the dangers by selling bird feed (bajra/ pearl millet) at public spaces.
By now it is well-known that the droppings of the birds and their feature dust outside windows, on outdoor AC units, at street junctions their feeding sites and the nesting alcoves can be life-threatening to people as they can spread chronic lung diseases and are also carriers of ticks, mites and bed bugs.
Besides, they are also a threat to other birds like house crows and the common Myna.
The fungal- based infections cause Cryptococcosis that impacts the lungs and the nervous system; Histoplasmosis or the Darling’s disease affects people with weak immunity especially the elderly and children causing asthma and other flu-like problems of headache, fever, dry cough and fatigue. The other disease Candidiasis, affects the mouth, throat, skin; it can also lead to respiratory, urogenital tract infections.
For Delhi NCR residents, the Wuhan- Corona Virus was bad enough; many are dreading the annual episode of pollution from Parali- stubble burning on Punjab farms that literally chokes the city, and now, will also be assaulted by the third calamity- the silent ‘Pigeon epidemic’! It was a shocking revelation that in the midst of fear of disease from pigeons, there were street boys in some neighbourhoods for whom the road-side rock pigeon was an occasional dinner.
How the world is coping with the Pigeons Menace! In France, under the French law, it is illegal to feed pigeons in Paris, doing so could land you with a 450€ (US$481) fine. However, undeterred, a subculture of nighttime bird feeders has emerged in recent years.
However, another step being taken to reduce the number of pigeons in Paris is the rather unusual form of pigeon- contraception. Special pigeon houses have been installed around the city for some time now, the birds are attracted to these sites by regular feedings. They make their nests in the boxes provided.
The birds are allowed to rear one brood of chicks a year but all subsequent clutches of eggs are shaken and the embryos inside destroyed. The French are of the view that stifling the pigeons’ natural fertility is, so far, the best defence against a population boom.
To think that this was the country where the pigeons helped them during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 to 1871 as brave postmen; though they were shot down, many managed to slip through enemy lines and deliver their post.
In Germany, before the turn of the 21st century it was still the rule to decimate pigeon populations through various killing measures, today such methods are inadmissible due to animal welfare regulations. Though there is a feeding ban in most cities, some municipalities have also launched programs for pigeon birth control by settling pigeons in open dovecotes or pigeon lofts and then exchanging the eggs with dummies.
However, it is often specifically stated in renting contracts that the tenant is forbidden to feed pigeons or any other bird close to the apartment.
In the US, in Phoenix- Mesa city it is illegal to feed pigeons. Many cities have their own laws.
The Mayor of Venice passed a law making it illegal to feed the pigeons with a $700 fine. There are more pigeons in Venice than humans he noted: around 100,000 pigeons to 60,000 humans.
In Singapore and Hong Kong too it is illegal to feed pigeons. The maximum penalty for feeding wild animals has been raised to a one-year prison term and a fine of HK $ 5,000/-.
