Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Pigeon Population Decline with OvoControl P

Pigeon population problems pooping out?
June 9, 2008

In today's This Week Ahead column, we catch up on what's happening in Hollywood--not with celebrities but with pigeons:

How have the efforts to shrink the pigeon population in Hollywood using birth control gone since announcing it last July?

Since August, some of the area's estimated 5,000 pigeons have been eating pill-shaped kibble known as OvoControl P from feeders on rooftops, making Hollywood the first area to try the contraceptive since it was given state approval in late July.

About 300 pigeons flock every morning at daybreak to eat up the contraceptive kibble, which contains nicarbazin, an ingredient that stops an egg from developing. OvoControl P has been registered with the state Department of Pesticide Regulation and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and is approved by PETA and the Humane Society.

Laura Dodson, president of the Argyle Civic Assn., a neighborhood group leading the effort called Citizen Pigeon, said that they raised enough money from local businesses and residents -- over $50,000 -- to install five rooftop automatic feeders. They’ve also installed cameras to monitor the birds eating online.

After four months, the 438 pigeon regulars in one spot dropped to just below 40. Some through attrition, but pigeons are "just having less babies now," Dodson said.

The original date to reduce the pigeon population by 50% was 2012, but Dodson said that pest control and wildlife officials think it could happen within the next two years.

The pigeons are disliked in the area, currently under millions of dollars in renovation efforts, because of the messy droppings.

Italy, though, is taking a different approach on cracking down on the birds.

--Francisco Vara-Orta

5 comments:

New York Bird Club said...

PETA should be working towards implementing laws to protect birds instead of looking of ways to reduce their population. Pigeon population control is not a humane solution.

Anonymous said...

Population control - ok for humans, not for birds

Kat said...

I wrote a book about a little girl who fights for the rights of pigeons and other birds. It's called The REAL Poop! A Cassandra Matthews Adventure.
It's fun and humorous, but it deals with real issues.
It's good for 8-12 year olds.
It's available on Amazon.com now:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0986565008?tag=jillof-20&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=0986565008&adid=0Y8FKMR17RJR3K2CK859&
Katharine Schopp

Patrick Perry said...

Controlling the population of Pigeons using birth control like OvoControl is about as humane and ethical as you can get, because it doesn't kill live birds, only stops pigeons from over-multiplying. What's your beef "NYBC"?? Do you actually own a building that these birds land on, as I do, or are you just a person who rents a little apartment and thus don't incur the financial and health related costs of an overpopulated species. I'm from Kentucky, where we have tons of wildlife that we respect and enjoy. Even in our smaller cities here, pigeons are a *real* problem, not an imagined problem. Now that I live in the city, they are destroying our air-conditioning equipment, ruining the paint on our building, and causing health issues. Other control methods, like bird spikes and shock strips, can be expensive, leaving these methods out of the financial reach of less wealthy folks unlike yourself. Sincerely, Patrick Perry of Paducah, KY

Unknown said...

It appears that Patrick
Perry is not much of a thinker, and cannot see reality when it concerns anything except himself.

Reducing a population of 438 to 40 in four months is a huge stretch from the initial aim of achieving a 50% reduction in two years.

If the "pills" they were feeding the pigeons achieved a 90% population reduction in four months then there is absolutely zero connection to birth control and 100% connection with feeding them poison.