Urban pigeons face welfare challenges from pest control measures; humane management through fertility control is increasingly adopted.
Feral pigeons occupy a welfare paradox as both nuisance animals subjected to lethal control and sentient beings capable of suffering. Conventional pest control including poisoning, trapping, and culling causes significant animal suffering and is largely ineffective long-term due to rapid population rebound. Fertility control programmes that reduce population size humanely are more welfare-positive and can achieve population control goals sustainably.