Toronto's Bird Birth Control Pilot Program is almost 1 year old

Toronto crews are nearly a year into monitoring a pilot project to control the city's pigeon population.

In May 2023, the city launched the project, installing bird feeders with a birth control device called OvoControl in four locations across the city in an effort to reduce the growing population.

OvoControl, otherwise known as birth control for birds, is a medication that inhibits reproduction and produces unfertilized eggs in treated birds. This is a more humane way of managing pigeon flocks than using poisons or harmful alternatives.

The city will then assess the impact and progress of the contraceptive and whether it could be a potential solution to Toronto's growing pigeon population. The cost of the project is about $500, with about 150 birds each.

The city told Now Toronto there are currently four sites with the pill: two downtown, one in East York, one in North York, and a fifth site is expected to be installed downtown.

“The city expects to evaluate the impact of the pilot in the summer of 2024 and then can decide on the next steps for the pilot program,” the city said in a statement Tuesday.

WHAT DOES THE EXPERT THINK?

Scott MacDougall-Shackleton, director of the Advanced Bird Research Facility at the University of Western Ontario, told Now Toronto that products like OvoControl are effective in reducing ovulation, but determining whether the treatment will be successful in reducing pigeon populations depends on other factors and will take time.

These factors include ensuring that non-target native species of birds do not consume the product, and if treatment is important enough to affect the population, or whether new birds from elsewhere replace non-breeding birds.

Toronto's bird control program is reducing the pigeon population by 50 percent each year, according to the city's website.

As for why there are so many pigeons in the city, MacDougall-Shackleton says it's because pigeons in particular thrive in urban environments.

“Pigeons are descended from passenger pigeons. That is, they are a wild species descended from domesticated pigeons. They are well adapted to living in urban conditions, especially where there are many high-rise buildings and are found in many cities around the world,” he said.

“It's not just an issue for Toronto. Pigeons can nest in human buildings. Pigeons also have an interesting feature: instead of feeding their chicks insects or seeds, they create a kind of “milk” in their throats and feed it to their babies. “By producing this 'plant milk,' parents can raise their babies whenever they can find enough food,” he explained.

Pigeons therefore have a unique advantage, he says, because while other bird species are limited to breeding only when suitable insects or plants are available, pigeons can use food scraps in cities and still raise their young properly.

To help keep pigeons off your property, the city recommends removing food and water sources, removing trash and chickens, and hanging strips of shiny fabric, colorful spinning wheels or balloons to discourage the birds.