Toronto crews are nearing one year of monitoring a pilot project for controlling the city’s pigeon population.
In May 2023, the city launched the project and installed bird feeders with a birth control called OvoControl in four locations across the city in an attempt to decrease its growing population.
OvoControl, otherwise known as birth control for birds, is a medication that interferes with the reproduction of treated birds and induces eggs that are unfertilized. It’s a humane approach for managing pigeon flocks as opposed to using poison or harmful alternatives.
The city will then assess the effects and progress of the contraceptive and whether it can be a potential solution to Toronto’s booming pigeon population. The project costs approximately $500 per site with each location targeting about 150 birds.
The city told Now Toronto there are currently four sites with the pill: two downtown, one in East York, another in North York, and a fifth site is expected to be installed downtown.
“The City expects to evaluate the impacts of the pilot during summer 2024 and can then take a decision on the next steps for the pilot program,” the city said in a statement on Tuesday.
WHAT DOES AN EXPERT THINK?
University of Western Ontario’s Advanced Facility for Avian Research Director Scott MacDougall-Shackleton told Now Toronto that products such as OvoControl is effective at reducing ovulation, however to determine whether the treatment is successful at decreasing the pigeon population depends on other factors and will require time.
These factors include ensuring non-target native species of birds are not consuming the product and dictating if treatment is substantial enough to affect the population or if new birds from elsewhere will replace the ones that don’t reproduce.
Toronto’s bird control program is set to decrease the pigeon population by 50 per cent annually, according to the city’s website.
As per why the city has such a large pigeon population, MacDougall-Shackleton says it’s because pigeons in particular are extremely good at thriving in urban environments.
“Pigeons are descended from messenger pigeons. That is, they are a feralized species descended from domesticated pigeons. They are well adapted to living in urban settings, particularly those with lots of high rises, and are found in many cities around the world,” he said.
“It is definitely not just an issue for Toronto. Pigeons can nest on human buildings. Pigeons also have an interesting feature: rather than feed their chicks insects or seeds, they create a sort of ‘milk’ in their throat and feed that to their babies. By producing this ‘crop milk’ the parents can raise babies any time they can find enough food,” he explained.
That is why he says pigeons have a special advantage because while other bird species are limited to only reproduce when the appropriate insects or plants are available, pigeons can utilize food waste in cities and still raise their kids in a proper manner.
To help keep pigeons off one’s property, the city recommends eliminating food and water sources, removing garbage and roosting niches, and hanging strips of shiny fabric, colourful spinning wheels or balloons that move in the wind to discourage birds.
