One of the arguments for wanting to fight pigeons is: they are carriers and can transmit infection to humans.
If you want to use that argument, then you have to change the word "pigeons" to "all birds", as we are surrounded by millions of birds in the public space, all of which should be potential carriers, and we should therefore be constantly exposed to risk of infection. However, the likelihood of infection is, according to a number of studies, very, very low. If the claim was true, then we should not only concentrate on fighting pigeons, but extend the fight to all birds. It is completely unnecessary. Exotic birds, which people keep in their private homes, and birds bred in industrial agriculture, on the other hand, may carry some risk of transmitting certain diseases to humans.
Mike Everett, spokesman for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds in England stated in 'The Big Issue Magazine', February 2001: 'This whole' rats with wings' thing is once emotional nonsense. There is none evidence that they (pigeons) spread disease. ”
As the head of the veterinary services Speaking to the House of Commons in London in 2000 about reducing the number of pigeons in Trafalgar Square, he was asked if the large number of pigeons in the square posed a health risk to humans. The head of the veterinary services replied to Parliament that they did in his opinion does not .
Charlotte Donnelly, American expert in bird control, wrote in a report commissioned by the Cincinnati Environmental Protection Council: “The truth is that the vast majority of people are at little or no health risk from pigeons and they are likely to be at greater risk of being struck by lightning than contracting a serious pigeon disease . ”
Guy Merchant, Director of a consulting firm regarding. birds says when talking about the transmission of diseases from pigeons to humans: “If we believed everything we read in the media about the health risks associated with pigeons, and the farcical propaganda distributed by the pest control industry, we would never leave our homes. The fact is that there is probably a greater risk to human health by eating intensively farmed chickens and eggs from supermarkets, or having contact with pets such as cats, dogs and exotic birds in cages than there is from contact with pigeons. ”
Dr. David A Palmer (BVSc., MRCVS) stated in an article entitled 'Pigeon Lung Disease Fatality and Health Risk from Ferals': “It is clear that if one has a compromised immune system, e.g. in the form of a specific allergy or a lung disease that causes breathing difficulties, then one will react to anything that may be irritating to the bronchi and lungs. But it is really absolute nonsense for a popular daily newspaper to claim that pigeons pose a health hazard and probably need to be removed for the nation's health. ”
Dr. David Taylor (BVMS FRCVS FZS) states: “In mine 50 years of professional occupation as a veterinarian able to I dont remember one case of one human zoonosis (disease that can be transmitted from animals to humans) related to you are. On the other hand know I, and have seen many examples of, human disease related to Contact with dogs, cats, cattle, monkeys, sheep, camels, budgies, parrots, cockroaches, aquarium fish and even dolphins.”
The three centers The Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, the New York City Department of Health, and the Arizona Department of Health everyone agrees that diseases associated with pigeons represent little or no risk to humans. “We never have documented an infection from pigeon to man in the state Arizona.Says Mira J. Leslie, State of Arizona veterinarian specializing in public health.
Steve Harris, BBC Wildlife: “Why do pigeons get such a bad publicity? Why are pigeons considered to be full of diseases that will kill you if you so much as come near one? Unfortunately, the answer is: greed! Pest control companies view pigeons as an endless source of income (because control methods are extremely ineffective in the long run) and they spread misinformation and exaggerate everything - thereby making people anxious and unempathetic about pigeons. Most municipal websites have a page about pigeons and disease, and they always indicate that pigeons pose a health risk. However, one never sees any new scientific research that seriously substantiates their claims (the same applies to the websites of pest controllers) ”.
An organization working to preserve pigeons at Trafalgar Sqare wrote: "If there was anyone real risk that you are transmits diseases to people, ville we see epidemics among dovebreeders who do competitions with pigeons and spend a lot of their time in dusty doveroom. We would also see everyone involved in rehabilitation of you are on hospitals for wild animals worldwide, fall on the streak. The facts speaks for itself. You are does not spread diseases, and if one argues that we must get rid of with the pigeons because the is ‘potential spreaders', so have we need to get rid of everyone wild birds.”
The Association of Pigeon Veterinarians (association of veterinarians working with carrier pigeons) issued a statement in response to a question about the possible impact of pigeons on human health. The opinion concludes: “… opdræt, storage, and training of you are constitute after our knowledge not larger health hazard than hold off others pets or Pet.“
A biologist from a Belgian animal welfare association who has prepared a report on pigeons in urban space stated: There is absolutely no danger to public health. Pigeons cannot transmit either paratyphoid or tuberculosis to humans. Avian tuberculosis does not pose a danger to humans either.
Scientific research in Germany and the Netherlands, by Dr. GM Dorrestein, professor of pathology at the University of Utrecht, has shown that carrier pigeons that have returned to nature do not present any risk to public health. Paratyphoid and tuberculosis are not transmitted to humans by pigeons, and it is extremely rare for parrot disease (ornithosis) to be transmitted - this can in turn occur through contact with exotic birds. A form of avian tuberculosis, which in very rare cases can occur in pigeons, is not harmful to humans. Only daily intensive contact with pigeons, their feathers and their excrement can lead to "pigeon fitter lungs", a form of allergy that can be easily treated.
(Findings on the health situation of free-roaming city pigeons; Dr. GM Dorrestein, Vakgroep Veterinaire Pathologie (faculty of veterinary pathology), University of Utrecht. With R. Korbel and D. Schneeganss, Institut für Geflügelkrankheiten (institute of poultry diseases) , Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich (Munich).
Zoonosis in birds, lecture presented at the World Veterinary Conference, Lyon 1999; Dr. GM Dorrestein, Drs M. van der Hage, Faculty of Veterinary Pathology, University of Utrecht.
Bird flu and pigeons
Some foreign and domestic newspapers wrote years ago that bird flu could be transmitted via pigeons. It conducted a series of experiments whose results showed that pigeons are resistant or minimally susceptible to infection with HPAIV and NPAIV, and play no or minimal epidemiological role in the spread of virus. Please check:
Pathogenicity of a Hong Kong-origin H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza virus for emus, geese, ducks, and pigeons.
Perkins LE, Swayne DE
Pigeons were inoculated intranasally with A / chicken / Hong Kong / 220/97 (H5N1) highly pathogenic avian influenza virus. They seemed resistant to infection not showing any clinical signs or gross and histologic lesions and the virus was not re-isolated ”.
Susceptibility of pigeons to avian influenza.
Panigrahy B, Senne DA, Pedersen JC, Shafer AL, Pearson JE
Pigeons were inoculated with non-pathogenic avian influenza virus and highly pathogenic avian influenza virus. The pigeons remained clinically healthy and virus was not re-isolated ”.
Nevertheless, the company performs Chrisal completely undocumented the following: “The excrement belongs to one of the most dangerous sources of infection - at all. Diseases such as bird flu and salmonella are just a selection of the dangers of infection ”.
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