Pigeons don’t need your sympathy (in summer)
10.7.2023
Translation: Elicia Payne
They’re considered rats of the air – and yet I felt sorry for the pigeons in the hot weather this weekend. Unnecessarily, so I found out.
«The poor things!» I say to my boyfriend with pity, as I show him the pigeons sitting on the metal roof of our apartment that afternoon. At the moment, it’s over 50 degrees out there. No joke, that was the temperature the construction workers measured. Sluggish, the pigeons stare into space. I’m convinced they’re suffering. They need water. Should I put a little bowl of tap water on the window sill? Or have I gone mad?
Danger lurks in the shallow water
I ask Sandra Schenk. The pigeon keeper of the city of Winterthur explains that you can make things worse when you give them water. But why shouldn’t you give pigeons anything to drink? «Because the liquid heats up quickly,» says Sandra Schenk. «The risk of pigeons ingesting contaminated water is high.»
How can I help them then?
Temperatures far above 30 degrees don’t bother pigeons.
Apparently by doing nothing, so I learn. Temperatures far above 30 degrees don’t bother pigeons. In fact, the opposite. The birds even prefer the scorching hot summer to winter.
City takes pigeons under its wings
I’m surprised. Yet I still wonder how pigeons get enough water. Sandra Schenk explains to me that the city of Winterthur takes care of that. It’s true, since the beginning of 2023 you are forbidden to feed wild animals in the Canton of Zurich – and thus also pigeons. The city, however, has an exemption permit to care for the animals on a daily basis. That is, in two pigeon lofts with water nearby.
Pigeons are wild animals. We need to just let them live.
I’ve learnt something new again: just like you shouldn’t feed pigeons, you shouldn’t give them water either. Sandra Schenk sums it up nicely: «Pigeons are wild animals. We need to just let them live.»
So I’ll do just that, I think to myself as I look at the roof again. Just a few poo stains remain. The pigeons have gone. My sympathy too.
Source: Shutterstock
Do you support animals in the height of summer? Let me know in the comments.
Header image: Shutterstock
Darina Schweizer
Senior Editor
Darina.Schweizer@digitecgalaxus.chI like anything that has four legs or roots. The books I enjoy let me peer into the abyss of the human psyche. Unlike those wretched mountains that are forever blocking the view – especially of the sea. Lighthouses are a great place for getting some fresh air too, you know?
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