In Barcelona, ​​they began to fight pigeons with the help of predators

They will try to prevent the invasion of urban birds in the Catalan capital

Barcelona is testing a new method of exterminating pigeons in the city. Hawks and falcons will be working in the area of ​​the Camp Nou football stadium to track birds. The project will last six weeks and technicians will send birds of prey into pigeon roosts to disperse them.

Barcelona City Council has launched a pilot test with falcons and eagles to drive pigeons out of the Camp Nou area. The promotion will be carried out in two stages: the first, more intensive, with daily flights, and the second, supporting, with flights three times a week. The trial phase will last a total of six to eight weeks.

Residents of the area complain about a large number of pigeons and demand that the building be covered with netting to prevent the birds from spreading.

Eviction of birds using winged predators is a method of quickly getting rid of new populations of pigeons. Animal Rights Director Carme Mate explained that birds of prey are used “not to hunt doves,” but to disperse them in the face of the danger posed by hawks and eagles. Since work began on the renovation of FC Barcelona’s stadium, there has been an infestation of pigeons in the area directly opposite the Camp Nou.

The specialist will reportedly visit the settlements that the pigeons have created themselves and send a bird of prey to chase them away and disperse them. This event will feature four birds: three eagles and a hawk. Intense daily work will be carried out for two weeks from eight in the morning to four in the afternoon. Depending on the results obtained, further maintenance work may be suggested.

The pilot test was coordinated jointly by the Parish of Le Cort and the Animal Welfare Department and is in addition to other containment measures aimed at combating the increasing presence of pigeons in the Camp Nou area. The strategy includes reducing food supplies, reducing birth rates, and limiting and eliminating roosting and nesting sites.

Previously, a campaign was launched to prevent citizens from feeding these animals. The city council wants to learn first-hand about those who feed the birds and try to get them to change their habits, Mate said. However, if this practice is not curtailed, the government has as a last option a regulation to fine people who feed pigeons.

The presence of pigeons in the Sant Ramon area has increased with the start of demolition work at the Camp Nou in June 2023. The colony of birds that lived there has moved to a building opposite in Travessera des les Corts, where dozens of pigeons nest at night on window sills and on the roofs of eateries.