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In Barcelona, pigeons are everywhere. Recently, the Poble-sec district was the victim of a particularly harmful invasion which reopens the debate on their proliferation in the city.
Cover photo: Clara Soler Chopo – Barcelona town hall
It’s like being in Hitchcock’s “The Birds”, a pigeon version, as they swarm so much, causing disorder and nuisance. For several years, the Poble-sec district has been the victim of a proliferation of pigeons: an untenable situation for local residents who no longer know who to call.
At 10 Carrer Piquer, in Poble-sec, there is a building abandoned for several years, where pigeons have taken up residence. Result: excrement on the surrounding facades, birds on the window sills, unbearable noise and the streets in an alarming state of dirt. After months of complaints, the building’s owners finally reacted last October, by cleaning up the rubble and excrement that littered the building. They also installed a grid so that the birds would not return.
Photo: Zowy Voeten – El Periodico
Last December 19, during an inspection, the municipality considered that the clearance work was satisfactory. Except that. Except that dozens of pigeons continue to flutter and roost in the interior courtyard surrounding the dilapidated building, surrounded by houses, a residence and a hotel, straining the nerves of local residents who, for their part, believe the situation is worse than before.
-For the moment, neither the town hall nor the owners have reacted to the distress of the neighborhood’s residents, but one thing is certain, this is not the only place in Barcelona infested by these birds.
A problem on an urban scale
Indeed, the county town today has between 1,300 and 1,700 pigeons per square kilometer, despite repeated attempts by the town hall – contraceptive treatment in 2017 for example – to reduce the population. Staggering figures, a long way from the recommended 300 or 400 birds per square kilometer.
Among the areas most affected by the inconvenience caused by pigeons, including noise, excrement and health dangers, the town hall cites the Ciutat Vella, in particular the Plaça Catalunya and the Ciutadella park.
Why these places? Because it is here that the birds eat the most, explains the institution. In these areas, they find food in quantity, around 15 kilos per day. Of course, they don’t feed alone, and that’s where the problem lies. A small group of 350 people each feed around 3 to 5 kilos per day to animals in different areas of Barcelona, causing them to proliferate.
To stop the phenomenon, Carme Maté, director of the animal rights department at the town hall, declared to betevé recently that “The strategy for controlling pigeon colonies is to limit the amount of food given to them.” This is why, for more than a year, she has been working with the conflict management service to detect people who feed more than two kilos of food per day to these birds and to inform them of the repercussions this entails.
For more information on the city’s “pigeon problem”, watch our report on the subject:
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