Feral pigeons are among the most numerous urban birds globally, living in close proximity to humans in cities worldwide. Their welfare is affected by urban hazards, disease, and conflict with human interests that often leads to lethal control.
Urban pigeons live in environments shaped entirely by human decisions, yet their welfare is rarely considered in urban management. Anti-roosting hardware designed to exclude pigeons frequently injures birds who land on poorly installed spikes or become entangled in netting. Lethal poisoning causes prolonged death and spreads to secondary consumers (raptors, cats). Injured pigeons in urban environments often suffer for extended periods before death without access to wildlife rehabilitation. The welfare irony is that pigeons are descendants of domesticated animals released into urban environments - they are feral rather than wild - yet they receive none of the welfare protections afforded to companion animals and few of those given to wildlife.