According to media reports, the city of Limburg has accepted an offer from an animal welfare organization: 200 Limburg city pigeons are to be housed there in order to reduce the population in the short term. Katrin Pichl, specialist for urban pigeons at the German Animal Welfare Federation, comments.
"The city now seems to be more open to offers of help from animal welfare organizations. Mayor Hahn and those responsible have obviously not been able to ignore the public pressure and the outrage that has spread even beyond Germany's borders. But simply removing the pigeons from the city is not enough: although the number of animals will be reduced in the short term, it will quickly increase again. The city therefore still has a duty to establish an urban pigeon management system with egg swapping - the only sustainable solution for people and animals that is compatible with animal welfare. At the same time, the chicks of the captured animals must also be considered, as they will be left in their nests without their parents and will starve and die of thirst.
In addition to the relieving news that many pigeons have escaped death, it must not be forgotten that animal welfare activists are now stepping in again. It is unacceptable for cities to have their unloved urban pigeons housed by animal and pigeon conservationists in future, while they themselves shirk all responsibility. The trapped pigeons must also spend the rest of their lives in an aviary.
As the German Animal Welfare Federation, we offered the city of Limburg - together with our Landstierschutzverband Hessen, the Limburg Animal Welfare Association and animal welfare activist and content creator Malte Zierden - our support for the development and establishment of an animal welfare-friendly and sustainable urban pigeon concept. This offer still stands."
