Birth control for birds? Toronto is betting on it with new feeder to control pigeon population

Toronto has expanded its efforts to control the number of pigeons in the city by setting up a new feeder downtown that contains birth control for the birds.

The urban feeder at Nathan Phillips Square, which was added on Monday, is the fifth one set up in the city as part of a pigeon population control pilot project launched in May 2022.

The aim is to reduce the pigeon population by 50 per cent annually. The city set up four other feeders in 2022 and 2023 on rooftops.

City staff are analyzing the results of the feeders and are expected to report next year on whether the project is making a difference. The city says it will be able to decide in 2025 about next steps for the project.

Dr. Esther Attard, director of Toronto Animal Services and the city's chief veterinarian, said on Wednesday that birds are used to being fed on the ground at Nathan Phillips Square and that's why the city went with a ground level feeder there.

"People find them a nuisance and there are a lot of them," Attard said. "People complain about the excrement and the issues that they have if you're eating your lunch and there they are, trying to get it from you."

'A human way' of controlling pigeon population

Attard said the pilot project is the city's response to complaints about pigeons. Residents have said the birds make it hard for them to enjoy green spaces, balconies and public areas throughout Toronto. Business owners have said they make a mess in front of their businesses.

Using bird birth control is better than harming, trapping or poisoning the birds, she said.

"It's a contraceptive for these birds so that they can still lay their eggs but they won't be fertile so they won't have chicks. And then it means that the population will decrease by attrition so it's a humane way of trying to control these populations." 

The city doesn't have an estimate of the number of pigeons in Toronto. Pigeons only live for about two to three years in the wilds of the city in part because it's difficult for them to get the food they need, Attard said.

The feeders, which come from Barcelona, Spain, cost roughly $500 per month each. The one at Nathan Phillips Square is on a timer and dispenses the food at sunrise — the same time every day to establish a routine for the birds.

"We want to make sure that they're coming every day. And that's when they're sort of awake to start to eat. And we want them to eat our food first," Attard said.

Attard said people love to feed wildlife and when they do, the birds continue to expect food.

"They're not really wild," Attard said, explaining Toronto's pigeons population came from Europe a long time ago. "They're mostly domestic birds that have just been abandoned so it's kind of a feral population."

According to the city's webpage on pigeon facts, pigeons usually live in large flocks of more than 20 birds. The once-abandoned birds now live in the city because they adapt well to urban environments, where there is food and shelter, it says.

Under the city's animals bylaw, residents are not allowed to feed wildlife or leave food out that would attract animals on public and private property.