Abstract of paper presented at ISAZ 2001 conference, 'Human-Animal Conflict: Exploring the Relationships with Conflict between Humans and Other Animals', University of California, Davis, USA. August 3-4, 2001
RATS OF THE SKY: THE AETIOLOGY OF AN URBAN CONFLICT BETWEEN PEOPLE AND PIGEONS
Joanna Swabe
Department of Animals and Society, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Yalelaan 17, 3584 CL Utrecht, The Netherlands
Pigeons have become avian pariahs of modern urban society. These birds are widely loathed by urban dwellers as disease-ridden pests. The term 'flying rats' that is so often used to vilify them speaks volumes about the contempt in which these birds are frequently held. In recent years, civic authorities across Europe have declared war on this species in a bid to control numbers, minimise public health risks and reduce the huge costs incurred from cleaning up monuments covered in pigeon excrement. Yet curiously the flocks of pigeons that congregate in the streets, piazzas and parks of all major European towns and cities are often regarded as much of a tourist attraction as a nuisance. Indeed, in spite of their popular image as vermin, there is no shortage of well-meaning urban folk who are prepared to dole out crusts of bread and birdseed to them, not to mention the enthusiasts who keep and breed this species of bird for fancy or racing sport.
The relationship between people and pigeons is thus far from a clear-cut one. As this paper will demonstrate, even if people perceive this species as filthy or a nuisance, they are still often prepared to show concern for the welfare of individual sick and injured birds. The manner in which pigeons are perceived and the way in which they are treated reflect the contradictory nature of our relationship to them. This paper will explore this ambivalent relationship, focusing on the nature of the urban conflict between people and pigeons. Drawing on data collected in Amsterdam, where the pigeon problem is - like in many other capital cities - high on the local public and political agenda, this paper will provide a sociological analysis of the broad variety of attitudes towards these birds and their right to freely inhabit urban spaces.
There are a number of key actors directly involved in pigeon politics in Amsterdam; these include the municipal public heath department, local government policymakers, animal protection agencies, wild bird shelters, the animal ambulance service and pigeon fanciers. These actors tend to work at cross-purposes. For example, the animal ambulance will transport injured and ailing pigeons found by concerned members of the public to the bird shelters, which in turn - wherever possible - will try to rehabilitate them. In stark contrast, the health department endeavours to regularly catch and gas large numbers of the birds to death; this strategy has in turn led to substantial public outcry. It is clear that the interests of these individual actors differ considerably, as do their power to influence official decisions also: public health and sanitation seem to stand in direct opposition to animal rights and welfare.
Yet, as this paper will illustrate, ambivalent attitudes towards pigeons also abound within the very organisations that one might assume would be sympathetic to them. Just as surprisingly, other actors, such as city councillors, have been prepared to take up the gauntlet in defence of the humble pigeon. Whilst recognising that these birds are a public nuisance, they have attempted to dispel the notion that pigeons pose a real hazard to public health, encouraging more animal-friendly means of population control, such as egg-replacement. This paper will examine existing and proposed strategies for dealing with the pigeon problem, considering whether such lines of attack are - in the view of the actors involved - legitimate, morally defensible or even truly effective in combating these 'rats of the sky'.
