PETA India protests BMC's pigeon feeding ban, calls for humane solutions

Mumbai: Amid the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's ban on feeding pigeons and closing old kabutarkhanas in the city, PETA India on Tuesday staged a silent protest, donning bird masks.

Five members of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India donned pigeon masks and dressed like quintessential Mumbaikars — an autorickshaw driver, a woman in a traditional navvari (nine-yard sari), an officegoer and a man in a kurta and dhoti, holding the signboard "We Are Mumbaikars Too, Please Be Kind to Us."

"Pigeons are Mumbaikars simply trying to survive, just as we are, and abruptly stopping their feeding after generations is causing them to suffer," said Utkarsh Garg, PETA India campaigns coordinator.

He said, "Replacing the feeding ban with reasonable feeding timings and cleaning schedules would show Mumbai respects tradition and leads practically and with compassion." Garg claimed that fears around pigeon-related health risks are exaggerated, and an RTI response from Mumbai's three largest civic hospitals shows that only 0.3 per cent of respiratory illness cases in 2024 were linked to pigeon exposure.

International research also demonstrates that the risk of disease transmission from pigeons to humans is low, even for those in close and regular contact with them, he claimed.

Garg said PETA India has proposed three practical steps to the government: designating specific feeding times and hubs at kabutarkhanas, ensuring regular cleaning and sanitation at these sites, and installing multilingual messages educating the public on proper feeding practices and the minimal health risks posed by pigeons.

The organisation has also written to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis about a pigeon population control method implemented in several European cities. This approach combines the other measures PETA India has recommended with dovecotes that allow the replacement of eggs with dummy eggs.

It claims that the system can be implemented easily and would allow Mumbai to reduce the number of pigeons gradually and humanely, while maintaining bird welfare, cultural and religious practices.