The small town of Limburg an der Lahn in Germany has decided to kill all its pigeons. In a recent vote, over 53 percent of residents agreed to the cull, with 7,530 votes in favour.
The decision was made after the town’s council proposed the idea last year, which sparked controversy.
Mayor Marius Hahn said: “Today’s result was unpredictable for us. The citizens have made use of their right and decided that the animals should be reduced by a falconer.”
The plan involves using a falconer to trap the pigeons, stun them with a wooden stick, and then break their necks.
Animal rights activists have criticised the plans.
Tanya Muller, Limburg’s city pigeon project manager, told Sky News last year: “We live in 2023, it can’t be that we kill animals just because they annoy us, or they’re a nuisance. That’s not acceptable.”
Critics argue that culling pigeons is not only cruel but also ineffective. They point to places like Basel, Switzerland, where the pigeon population remained stable despite yearly culls.
Instead, Basel used a different method, known as the ‘Basel model,’ which involved discouraging feeding and managing pigeon lofts to control egg numbers.
This led to a 50 percent reduction in pigeons within four years.
Other German cities, such as Augsburg, have adopted similar approaches, using pigeon lofts and egg control to manage the population. However, Limburg has chosen a more drastic method.
The cull is set to be carried out over the next two years.