Urban pigeon populations are managed through a range of methods with very different welfare implications, and evidence-based humane management is increasingly favoured over lethal control.
Urban pigeon management raises welfare questions at both individual and population levels. Lethal culling causes acute suffering, is expensive, and is typically ineffective because vacated territories are rapidly recolonised. Egg replacement programmes, in which eggs are replaced with faux eggs to prevent hatching while allowing natural incubation behaviour, offer a more humane and effective long-term approach. Architectural deterrents must be maintained to prevent entrapment. Anti-roosting spikes can injure birds if debris accumulates. The welfare ethics of pigeon management call for systematic, evidence-based approaches over ad hoc lethal responses.