You cannot cull away the cause

Pigeons need to be controlled. This was the entire argument all along.

And not killed.

The question is whether we are prepared to manage a population, or merely remove birds until the next birds arrive.

That distinction matters. Culling does not remove the food, the open waste, the scraps beneath outdoor tables, the easy nesting sites or the unmanaged colonies nearby. It leaves the whole system standing.

The result is not a mystery. A peer-reviewed study of pigeon colonies found recovery after removal ranged from 50 to 3,072 days. Colonies less than 500 metres from an unmanaged source colony returned most quickly. The researchers describe the rebound effect plainly: birds move back in, and the surviving population can rebuild through recruitment and breeding. Removal and recolonisation study

This is why a trap-and-kill programme is not a population policy. It is a repeating bill for trapping, transport, killing and disposal, while the conditions that created the problem remain untouched.

Malta has already tried the other path. The 2021-2023 contraceptive-feed pilot used 45 automated feeding stations in 35 localities. Its project documentation records reductions of up to 30% in participating areas before funding ended. It was a beginning, not a finished programme. Fertility control needs consistency, monitoring and the discipline to deal with competing food sources.

The wider evidence says the same thing. In Barcelona, a three-year nicarbazin programme recorded a 55.26% average reduction across the monitored colonies. The researchers did not present feed alone as a magic answer. They set out a package: target the conflict colonies, reduce nesting opportunities, limit supplementary feeding and run public-awareness work alongside fertility control. Barcelona study

That is the point we keep making. Contraception is not doing nothing. It is a measured, non-lethal way to reduce reproduction while the real causes are dealt with: waste, food availability, nesting sites and the lack of a joined-up citywide plan.

It takes patience. But patience is cheaper than paying for the same failure forever.

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