Guest Column: Irresponsible feeding, decline in other fauna to blame

Pigeons are suddenly being seen as a menace in the city and like in the case of stray dogs, the problem has arisen mainly thanks to people’s unbalanced and unscientific responses to the needs of urban animals and birds.

While the pigeon population has increased tremendously, it is important to understand that these much maligned birds have a natural lifecycle of three to 15 years, depending on the risk factors like disease and predation. They can breed throughout the year with the peak season being summer and spring. And wherever their flocks have been destroyed by poisoning or capture, they have come back in huge numbers because nature has compensated by increasing their breeding cycles.

As irresponsible feeding has been the main cause driving their population,  if the practice is regulated and pigeon protective netting is installed across verandahs and other spaces in homes, they will gradually cease to be the menace they are presently regarded as.

The overpopulation of pigeons is also linked to the decline of other urban animals and birds like parakeets, songbirds, snakes and mongoose.  By arbitrarily deciding what animals are acceptable in a city and   squeezing out others by destruction of their habitats, the city creates overpopulation of some and then goes on to  label them a menace both from the point of view of disease and overabundance.

If the city could regulate itself and balance its critical natural ecology, then there will be no need for destruction of any life form.  The narrative around control of any species must be linked to larger efforts to revitalise and appreciate the inter-connectedness of the ecosystem.

To sum up, we need to reflect more on our roles in creating a vibrant and healthy natural world around us.