In Defense of Pigeons

[shanmonster]

Two camps seem to exist, when I talk about my pet pigeon Scroffy. One camp thinks it's pretty cool that I have been adopted by a wild bird. These people are, at the very least, mildly interested in how tame a pigeon can become in a short period of time. The other camp reacts with sheer distaste. They say pigeons are filthy, and disease-carriers, to boot.

Although pigeons certainly do shit a lot, and they may have bird lice (like any other kind of bird), I don't believe they're filthier than any other animal. They're cleaner than cows, at the very least, and we make burgers and milkshakes from those! I see pigeons grooming themselves quite frequently. They might not be as fastidious as cats, but a dovecote doesn't smell as bad as a week-old litterbox.

Neither do I believe pigeons are potent disease carriers.

The belief that pigeons make people sicken and die may very well be the result of a conspiracy initiated by the pest control industry. According to Racingbirds.com,

the pest control industry and those that have a vested commercial interest in controlling pigeons have a very efficient propaganda machine constantly churning out scare stories designed to sell their products. Pest control is a multi-billion dollar industry worldwide and culling pigeons and selling proofing products represents a large proportion of the profits within this industry. Because scientific research has proved that culling pigeons is a completely ineffective method of control the pest control industry has to scare the public into believing that they need to be concerned about pigeons. The best way to do that is to link pigeons with diseases.

Guy Merchant, Director of the Pigeon Control Advisory Service adds, "The fact of the matter is that there is probably a greater risk to human health from contact with domestic pets such as cats, dogs and caged birds."

Craig Levy, program manager for the Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases division of the Arizona Department of Health Services says, "we do not have any documented human cases of disease which have been definitively linked to outdoor pigeons or pigeon droppings. When cases of diseases are reported (and by law [certain bird related zoonoses are] reportable diseases), VBZD staff conduct complete investigations to confirm the diagnosis and identify the source of infection. …Our case investigation data gathered so far, would suggest that pigeons are not significant as a cause of human disease in Arizona."

When I turn and see Scroffy marching back and forth on my windowsill, singing his give-me-food litany, I don't feel revulsion and fear. I feel privileged that a wild creature has, er, taken me under his wing....

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Addendum:

Someone--I forget who--told me pigeons carry cholera, in particular. On researching fowl cholera, I have found that humans pose a greater threat to birds than the other way around:

While bird-to-bird spread is relatively easily accomplished, the organism does not survive well away from a host for long periods. The major source of infection is likely to be chronically infected flocks. Wild birds, animals such as rats, and flies can potentially carry the organism into a flock. The most likely source of infection, however, is probably human. Humans can become infected by the organism, without necessarily causing any illness, and shed it via excretions from the nose and mouth. P. multocida can survive long enough to infect a flock when carried in by contaminated clothing or equipment.

Somewhere out there, a pigeon is telling its chicks to stay away from people, because people are filthy, disease-ridden creatures. And do you know what? That pigeon is right.

Comments

[eljuno.livejournal.com]

This sorta reminds me of one of the first little "fun" experiments they have you do with agar. Swab a q-tip inside your mouth and rub it on one agar dish, then swab a dog's mouth and set another agar dish. Cover and let sit for a week.

The end result is almost always that the human mouth has more bacteria than the dog's mouth. However, for some reason, this fact never seems to work as an excuse for ANYTHING with your mother.

[shanmonster.livejournal.com]

I wonder if the zoophiles include this in their platform?

[fourcorners.livejournal.com]

I think it's totally neat that you have a pet pigeon. Might not be the most hygenic pet out there, but it's uniqueness is appealing

[shanmonster.livejournal.com]

I think dogs are less hygienic. I've yet to see a pigeon lick long and langourously at its cloaca.

[zaki.livejournal.com]

I meant to comment on Scroffy earlier. I think pigeons are the funniest little birds out there. (Second only to chickens. I want to raise chickens once we get a bigger bit of land in the country. I *especially* want to raise chickens after reading Shan's website, to give you a hint as to how doofy I am.) And I feed the pigeons outside our building whenever we eat out there. I like to start rivalries between them and the sparrows for my own amusement.

I am very jealous of you for being adopted by Scroffy. :) He looks very sweet.

[shanmonster.livejournal.com]

I miss my chickens!