Carcassonne: management of pigeons considered “cruel” by the PAZ association
The PAZ (Paris Animals Zoopolis) Association for the Protection of Animals conducted a national survey on the regulation of the number of pigeons in cities. He condemns the killing methods used. Carcassonne is selected. The city says it no longer uses this service provider.
The association PAZ, known for its fight to ban the enslavement of animals in circuses, conducted a survey in 2022 on the methods used to limit the population of pigeons in French cities. He gave his results on January 22. 140 municipalities were checked, including Carcassonne. With this observation for the association: “Many cities resort to brutal methods”, says its president Amandine Sanvicens. And for PAZ, Carcassonne is part of the lot. “The administrative documents provided by the city do not clearly indicate how the pigeons are killed, but as far as we know, the pigeon extermination companies kill the pigeons with gas. For us, it is a scandal that a municipality does not know how the pigeons are killed. What happens after they are caught.”
PAZ requested these administrative documents related to the management of the pigeon population in Carcassonne in January 2022. “The city did not respond to us at first. Then we seized the commission to get acquainted with the administrative documents. In April, the municipal services sent us the documents in question.”, defines Amandine Sanvisens. In these documents, including the estimate and the purchase order, is a question “The capture program presented by the EGEF company for the six months from October 2021 to March 2022 regarding the territorial pigeon colonies established in the Place Carnot and in the city center”. The method of capture is described in the offer of 7000 euros: “With two permanent birdhouses installed in strategic locations. Our 4 m3 prefabricated and removable aviaries have a capacity of 150 pigeons per shipment. Our aviaries are equipped with grain hoppers and automatic drinkers, roof covering and timber on three sides, offering better. The conditions of keeping the pigeons caught. We install the aviaries out of sight, we take care of the aviaries with every intervention to remove the pigeons.
After the arrest, there is nothing in the documents. However, EGEF, contacted by the company, denies this “pigeon gassing”. And it shows that a “some of the pigeons are sterilized” and the other side “kept in aviary”.
There are more ethical and effective solutions for the PAZ association. “For example, a contraceptive loft.” Contraceptive lofts are a new type of loft designed to regulate the urban pigeon population by performing egg sterilization. Contraception is provided by shaking the eggs by hand, which stops the development of the young. The eggs are left in place so that the females continue to germinate and do not leave the dovecote. Or “contraceptive corn for pigeons”.
During this survey, PAZ found that one-third of the communities killed columbidae, another did not kill them, and a third did not meet the association’s requirements. “Our goal is to highlight these misunderstood brutal practices to raise public awareness. Tell cities to stop using these practices. And our ultimate goal: to get regulation.”
The city did not renew the contract with the service provider
It is reported in the municipal building that an urgent appeal was made to the EGEF company “for a show that only lasted six months”. “We had a problem with the disturbance caused by the number of pigeons in the city centre.” The City has not renewed the contract with this service provider because it does not exist “current necessity” to carry out the management of pigeons, but also by “lack of visibility”. A reflection on this matter by the City should begin to determine how to proceed in the future.
