There are thousands of them cooing in the streets of Reims (Marne) every year.
But like everywhere in France, their fate divides.
Yesterday, the singer Stone, spokesperson for the Stéphane Lamart association for the defense of animals, decided to come to the rescue of the city's pigeons.
In a letter addressed to Mayor Arnaud Robinet, she denounces the mistreatment inflicted on birds with the use of “a barbaric method” to eradicate them.
In question, capture with nets then gassing in boxes.
A legal method in France but not very ethical.
“The pigeons are killed by implosion of their lungs in these boxes,” Stone specifies in the association’s press release.
For some residents, nothing is too alarming, as Claude, a retiree from Rémois, recalls who is not moved by their sad fate: “the pigeons are too numerous in certain areas, they dirty the streets and our cars.
We have to eliminate a little of it.”
The singer Stone, godmother of the Stéphane Lamart association (in the photo).
LP/Marie Blanchardon
At the town hall, we recall that many residents complain about this presence of birds, but we also insist on this category of animals designated as “liminal”.
“These are animals close to us, like rats or mosquitoes, they are not wild and are intended to live close to the population.
But we are well aware that we must find the right balance for the well-being of all,” recalls Marie Depaquy, deputy mayor for Health and Social Affairs.
Dovecotes and contraceptive corn
According to singer Stone, the only alternative to avoid unnecessary suffering is the installation of dovecotes to control births.
“Simply by shaking their eggs or piercing them, the birth of many young pigeons is avoided,” insists Stone in his letter addressed to the first councilor.
There is no question for the City of dismissing this proposal; it has even been under study for several months.
“We are going to move into a more active phase on this subject.
Our animal welfare advisor has identified new ways to combat the overpopulation of pigeons.
The installation of a dovecote is part of this as well as contraceptive corn.
It remains to be seen which strategic points will need to be equipped.”
Contraceptive corn to control pigeon births?
This unusual idea imagined in Belgium has already attracted several municipalities such as the city of Quimper (Finistère) or even Barcelona in Spain.
To be effective, the corn kernels are coated with a substance containing a low dose of nicarbazin to prevent the eggs from hatching.
The city promises that one of these two methods will be put into practice before the end of the year, in order to permanently put the gassing technique behind it.