Toronto has a pigeon problem. The city hopes birth control is part of the answer

The City of Toronto hopes the results of a year-long pilot project will give it a new tool to control the city's pigeon population.

Last spring, the city installed bird feeders containing birth control baits called OvoControl in targeted areas of Toronto in an effort to reduce pest populations.

Four locations and hundreds of dollars later, the project is approaching the one-year mark, which Esther Attard, the city's chief veterinarian and director of the Department of Animal Services, said will give staff information on how the initiative has affected the local pigeon population.

“There may be some decline, but we are not sure yet. “We have to go, maybe in the spring or summer of this year, we will know better how things are going,” he said.

“This is not a problem everywhere, these complaints are only in certain areas of the city. But it is enough that we consider another way to deal with it.

The city said it has received complaints about an increase in pigeons, making it difficult for residents to use Toronto's green space, balconies and urban areas. So instead of harming, capturing or poisoning the birds, they decided to try to solve the problem in a humane way by feeding the pigeons food containing birth control.

“(We) hope that this method will be able to control and manage the population so that people can enjoy their open space and we can live together in harmony.”

The project costs about $500 per site, with each site targeting about 150 birds. There are currently two sites in downtown Toronto, with another soon to be installed, one in East York and one in North York, Attard said.

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Willowdale County. Lily Cheng wants to see the pilot expanded to her ward, where residents complain they can't use their balconies because of the pigeon infestation and the mess they cause. Despite a city ordinance prohibiting people from feeding pigeons, people actively violate the ordinance, contributing to the problem, he said.

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“This issue really worries a lot of people,” Cheng said.

“When I read about this pilot, it was like a ray of light for us. There is hope in the battle with pigeon droppings.”

The method has been used in the United States and parts of Europe, Attard said. But it was also used in Canada.

Thor Diakov, spokesman for Metro Vancouver's transportation network, said transit operator Translink ran its pilot using OvoControl for 18 months in 2019. Birds are of particular concern because of their ability to affect transit safety and efficiency, and they can spread bacteria and disease, he said.

He still uses bait at seven stations, along with other methods to control the pigeon population, he added.

“With OvoControl, we found that it basically stabilized the population,” he said.

The City of Toronto says it receives complaints from residents about the local pigeon population and the waste they leave in the city. (Spencer Gallichan-Lowe/CBC)

Some residents are divided on the project

Most of the pigeons flying over Toronto's streets were tamed by their owners, who raced or bred them, then abandoned them and released them into the city, Attard said. Because they are domesticated and not wild, this method is useful in trying to control their population, he added.

On his daily walk to work near George Yonge Street and Finch Avenue, Sonu said he covered his head to avoid pigeons peering at him from the utility lines. That is why he supports the project, he said.

“They're out of control,” he said.

“They are always watching, watching us. “Who is my victim today?” kind of.

Torontonian Laman Meshadieva (left) says she does not support the City of Toronto's pilot project to control pigeon births, while Torontonian Sonu George (right) (Spencer Gallichan-Lowe/CBC)

But Laman Meshadieva said that this is not necessary, the city should pay attention to other areas.

“I am completely against it,” Meshadieva said. “Just leave them alone and focus on really more important things … worry about road construction, worry about homelessness.”