Many years ago I was catching hundreds of pigeons for dog training and live bird shooting. Word got out I was catching them in town and I was told in no uncertain terms I was never to do it again inside town limits. So I stopped. Soon afterwards there was a local TV story about the mysterious deaths of pigeons in the downtown area. Seems dozens, if not hundreds, were being found dead all over the place.
I knew what happened and paid the town “official” a quiet visit. Seems they were feeding them rat poison and the birds were dropping like flies. Explained to him it would be very bad for the town for word to get out they were murdering them with poison. Then explained I could deal with the problem without the town being involved. I began feeding them in a barn just a mile from town center. In a couple month I had hundreds of birds regular as clockwork every day. Easy enough to make entry a one way event, remove what I wanted and letting them fly away later. In this way we kept the numbers in check and I got what I needed without the town getting any blame for it. Lasted for about four years until I no longer needed them. Don’t know how they deal with them today. Pigeons are flying rats not wild game.
