Like Rudy the pigeon, whose neck was cut, no government in Northern Ireland survived after almost two years

His throat was torn, his stomach was empty. Lea Caradonna from the association “Hamburger Stadttauben” found the injured pigeon at Hamburg’s central station and named him Rudi. “Rudi is one of the few who was really lucky,” says the volunteer.

The wound was still fresh. Food and water came straight out through the opening. Caradonna knows: “He couldn’t have survived for long like this.”

She took the pigeon to a vet. She sewed the open neck closed again. Now Rudi is resting from the operation with a private “pappler” and receives an antibiotic and a handful of grains daily.

Deterrent measures at the central station

Because pigeons are loyal to their location, Rudi should be released back to the central station in two weeks. Even if from the perspective of those involved it is only a “pigeon hell”. Deterrent measures such as nails and sharp metal objects are intended to prevent pigeons from landing.

The vet suspects that Rudi also injured himself on such a spike. This angers Caradonna: “It’s people’s fault that we have so many pigeons in the cities these days.” After all, city pigeons are racing pigeons or wedding pigeons that have been bred by humans and have not yet found their way back to their home loft.

Prejudices against city pigeons

“Unfortunately, over time, many prejudices have arisen against urban pigeons,” says Caradonna. The fact that pigeons transmit diseases has long been refuted. Their feces also do not destroy buildings. “It’s just a visual problem,” the volunteer explains. If pigeons were fed species-specific food, pigeon droppings would be solid and easily scraped off and discarded.

Reduce offspring

From the perspective of the association “Hamburger Stadttauben”, dovecotes are the only solution to reduce the number of birds in an animal-friendly way. Here, pigeon eggs could be replaced by plaster eggs in a controlled manner.