German Town to Mass Kill Pigeons? We Have the Facts Checked

Animal rights activists and residents of a German town are in a tiff, and pigeons are the subject matter. There is a fight over the issue of the need to cull pigeons in a German town.

A majority of residents in a tiny German town have voted in favor of culling pigeons. 

This has led to a clash between residents and animal rights activists.

Officials in Limburg an der Lahn, the central German town were still contemplating whether to implement the results of the referendum.

As per news reports, there isn’t any set timetable for the implementation. Some suggest that the resolution requires a case-by-case review prior to proceeding.

The pigeon problem

Business owners and residents have been frustrated by the pigeons of the town. The birds’ droppings have been troubling the restaurateurs, market vendors, and residents around the Neumarkt central square of Limburg started the legal battle.

As per reports, there are about 700 pigeons in the town at present. The town council made a decision to commission a falconer last November to lessen the population of pigeons in the town. This was to be done by breaking their necks.

It is not surprising that animal rights activists protested against the decision fiercely. This led to a petition for signatures to initiate a referendum.

After the referendum of this month, Marius Hahn, the mayor of Limburg expressed that the citizens had to choose to decrease the population of pigeons over the coming two years with the use of a falconer who will kill the birds.

The results and the response of the animal rights activists

It came as a big surprise for the animal rights activists that the people voted for killing the pigeons. They described it as a “death sentence”. The activists threatened legal action.

An administrative court in Kassel, took a decision in the year 2011 that killing pigeons must be associated with conditions like health risks, damage to buildings, and population size.

Johannes Laubach, town spokesman expressed that they must look into whether they match the criteria set by the Kassel court. The key considerations as per the decision of the court are whether the pigeons pose health risks, damage the buildings, or if the population size demands action.

It is stated by Laubach that the administrative officials and the mayor have faced threatening letters, emails, calls, and insults from the pigeon welfare activists for a very long time.

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