Can The Pigeon Pill Save Us From A Birdemic?

Last year Fort Lee, NJ Health Officer Steven Wielkotz turned to the chemical Avitrol to rid the area around town hall of pigeons. Avitrol "kills the pigeons by first causing them to suffer seizures and then cardiac arrest." Not exactly the best way to go, especially for Wielkotz, who actually ended up killing a slew of grackles instead. The Humane Society of the United States is now touting an alternative to curbing the pigeon population: pigeon birth control.

The EPA just reclassified OvoControl P® as general-use, making it available without a prescription. The birth control comes in the form of "an edible pellet treated with nicarbazin, a chemical that effectively reduces egg hatching rates in birds when used in combination with exclusion and other humane measures" (just look at the pigeons eating it up!). It's available through the manufacturer as well as other distributors, and is also used for Canada geese and Muscovy ducks, but with more label restrictions.

John Hadidian, director of Urban Wildlife Programs for The HSUS, says the EPA's decision will make the pigeon pill "more readily available to communities and businesses that want to control pigeon populations humanely and effectively." How well does it work? A recent study showed an 88% decline in 28 months in San Diego. So, scientists, where's the rat birth control pill?

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By Jen Carlson in News on May 5, 2010 12:40 PM

Comments [rss]

Amanda Harletsch

BTW, are people now of "overpopulation" of pigeons because they're gonna take your job!?

Worrying too much about life flourishing? How reverted consumerist culture logic is, polluting and devastating for the sake of it.

dadoc

Yes, so please help yourself to a hearty serving of Ovocontrol. It's tastier than the corn. Save a pigeon today!

Alamo L7

Jen, can you send me the reference to the recent study?

valeriob

Don't they already use this in every main city center in Europe?

ridgeside

No need for birth control, bait them for five days

, add poison on day six and problem solved, I do it annually for starling infestation, best thousand buck you could spend.

Lautaro

Holy crap. Wow.

FelixtheCat & Christine Quinn'

just look at the pictures of the BP oil spill. I think we needs to start dispensing birth control pills to humans. Put them in their BigMac and watch them eat it all up.

FelixtheCat & Christine Quinn'

where's the rat birth control pill? If you want to reduce the rat population then you need to reduce the human population that creates all the trash for these rats

youngpro

but then there will be fewer humans to kill the rats.

LeLY

I'm sure it will never come to pass that at some point we'll be looking back and saying, "That was so stupid!"

Spirit of 76

I assume you have a better idea? My only concerns would be effects on other birds that may eat the pellets, like sparrows, as well as birds of prey that may eat pigeons. But Ovocontrol claims it's safe for pigeon-eating species, so I'll just have to take their word for it.

dadoc

Site is interesting. $6.80/pound, 1 pound/80 pigeons. bait area is supposed to be observed to exclude other birds. Apparently no effect on raptor that eats baited pigeon. What is worrisome is the 49 week half-life in soil. Expensive, likely won't be done right. Better to NOT FEED THEM, exclusion of nesting sites, nest eradication, promote more hawks.