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.

The following quotes support does not the allegation of pigeons and infection:

Mike Everett, spokesman for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds i England udtalte i ’The Big Issue Magazine’, februar 2001: “Hele den her ‘rotter med vinger’ ting er en gang følelsesladet nonsens. Der er 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, amerikansk ekspert når det gælder bekæmpelse af fugle, skrev i en rapport bestilt af Cincinnatis miljøbeskyttelsesråd: “Sandheden er, at langt de fleste mennesker er i ringe eller ingen sundhedsmæssig risiko fra duer og de har sandsynligvis en større risiko for at blive ramt af et lyn end at pådrage sig en alvorlig sygdom fra duer.”

Guy Merchant, Director of a consulting firm regarding. birds siger, når talen falder på overførelse af sygdomme fra duer til mennesker: “Hvis vi troede alt, hvad vi læser i medierne om sundhedsmæssige risici forbundet med duer, og den farceagtige propaganda distribueret af skadedyrsbekæmpelsesindustrien, ville vi aldrig forlade vores hjem. Kendsgerningen er, at der sandsynligvis er en større risiko for menneskers sundhed ved at spise intensivt opdrættede kyllinger og æg fra supermarkeder, eller have kontakt med kæledyr såsom katte, hunde og eksotiske fugle i bur, end der er fra kontakt med duer.”

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 (sygdom der kan smitte fra dyr til mennesker) 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 dyrlæge med speciale i 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! Skadedyrbekæmpelsesfirmaer anskuer duer som en uendelig kilde til indtægt (fordi bekæmpelsesmetoderne er uhyre ineffektive i det lange løb) og de spreder misinformation og overdriver alt – og derved gør de folk angste for og uempatiske i forhold til duer. På de fleste kommunale hjemmesider er der en side om duer og sygdom, og de angiver altid, at duer udgør en sundhedsrisiko. Man ser imidlertid aldrig nævnt nogen ny videnskabelig forskning, der seriøst underbygger deres påstande (det samme gælder skadedyrbekæmpernes hjemmesider)”.

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 duer på hospitals for wild animals verden over, falde om på stribe. The facts speaks for itself. You are does not spread diseases, and hvis man fremfører, at vi må 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 i patologi ved University of Utrecht, har vist, at brevduer, som er vendt tilbage til naturen, ikke frembyder nogen risiko for folkesundheden. Paratyfus og tuberkulose bliver ikke videregivet til mennesker af duer, og det er yderst sjældent at papegøjesyge (ornithose) ses overført – det kan til gengæld ske ved kontakt med eksotiske fugle.  En form for fugletuberkulose, der i meget sjældne tilfælde kan forekomme hos duer, er ikke skadelig for mennesker. Kun daglig intensiv kontakt med duer, deres fjer og deres ekskrementer kan føre til ”duepasser-lunger”, en form for allergi, der let kan behandles.

(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 ”.