Czechia builds sanctuary for city pigeons
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Světlana Vávrová and Veronika Petráková of Czechia are constructing a rehabilitation centre near Brno to care for injured pigeons.
For thousands of years, pigeons lived alongside people, first domesticated for meat and then as message carriers, the United Kingdom used around 250,000 pigeons during WWII. However, with the advent of new technologies, pigeons became unwanted in cities, facing threats from traffic, building spikes, and a lack of veterinary care.
Pigeons fall into a gap in animal classifications, making it difficult to find professionals willing to treat them. Vávrová and Petráková began rescuing pigeons years ago, motivated by the birds’ suffering in urban environments. Their project aims to create a facility that can house up to 10,000 birds, including space for quarantine and long-term care. Currently, the project relies on donations and volunteer work, with construction slowed by a lack of funding.
Petráková suggests cities could coexist with pigeons by creating managed nesting and feeding areas, and by replacing eggs with fakes to control population growth. She believes these methods are more effective and humane than attempts to eliminate pigeons entirely, given their long history of dependence on humans.
