Call it bird control: Pigeons in Spain are going on the pill
Officials in Barcelona have announced that the city will dispense birth control pills to its 85,000 pigeons in an effort to curb the birds’ population, which has become a public nuisance as they leave droppings on historic monuments, buildings and even tourists.
City council members in the picturesque Spanish city originally proposed culling the population by rounding up the birds and shooting them, much to the dismay of animal-welfare activists.
Instead, 40 birth-control pill-dispensing bird feeders will be installed throughout Barcelona, Spain’s second largest city with a population of 1.6 million, starting in April.
A city council spokesman predicted “a reduction of 20 percent in the pigeon population in the first year, and between 70 and 80 percent in four or five years.”
The birth control pills contain Nicarbazin, which blocks the formation of eggs in birds. It has been used as a contraceptive for pigeons for more than 15 years throughout Europe, including in the Spanish cities of Alicante and Valencia.