RJ Hamster
An Urgent Appeal: Stop the Planned Pigeon Cull in…
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An Urgent Appeal: Stop the Planned Pigeon Cull in Woolwich
Please take action today, we don’t have much time
MAR 13READ IN APP
Early on Monday morning, pigeons living around a residential development in Woolwich, South East London could be shot.
The planned cull is reportedly scheduled to take place at The Academy, a gated development of several hundred homes built within a historic former military training site. Concerned residents alerted the Greenwich Wildlife Network, who then contacted us because they are deeply worried about what is about to happen.
The property is managed by Rendall and Rittner, one of the UK’s largest residential property management companies.
If the cull goes ahead, pigeons living around the development will be killed in the early hours of the morning, largely out of sight and without public scrutiny. Yet the reality is that killing pigeons in this way rarely solves the problem it claims to address.
Research consistently shows that pigeon culls do not reduce pigeon populations in the long term. Removing birds from an area does nothing to remove the food sources or nesting spaces that attracted them in the first place. When those conditions remain, other pigeons simply move in or the remaining birds breed more successfully. The result is a predictable cycle: birds are killed, numbers briefly fall, and then the population returns.
There are also serious welfare concerns. Shooting birds in urban environments does not always result in an immediate death, meaning injured pigeons can be left to suffer. Wildlife rescue organisations encounter these cases all too often.
Humane solutions already exist. Installing bird proofing, managing waste, blocking access to nesting areas and using deterrents can all significantly reduce pigeon activity without killing animals. These approaches address the root causes of pigeon presence rather than simply removing the birds themselves.
It is also worth remembering how pigeons ended up living alongside us. The pigeons in our towns and cities are descendants of birds humans domesticated thousands of years ago. For centuries we bred them for food, racing and sport, and relied on them to carry messages across continents and even through war zones.
Today they survive in our cities largely because of that long history of association with people. Yet they are now often dismissed as pests simply for existing in the environments we created.
What is perhaps most concerning about the planned cull in Woolwich is that it may only have come to light because residents decided to speak up. Without those individuals raising the alarm, the killing could have taken place quietly and without public scrutiny.
We’ve launched a petition calling on Rendall and Rittner to cancel the planned pigeon cull at The Academy development and instead commit to humane, effective alternatives.
If enough people speak up, this unnecessary killing can still be stopped.
You can sign the petition here
Urban wildlife has adapted to live alongside us. The least we can do is ensure that how we manage it reflects a basic level of compassion and common senseLIKECOMMENTRESTACK
