Pigeon Feeding in Mumbai: Novel Humane Win-Win Solutions Suggested by PETA India
For Immediate Release:
23 August 2025
Contact:
Hiraj Laljani; [email protected]
Sachin Bangera; [email protected]
Mumbai – People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India has written to Hon’ble Chief Minister of Maharashtra Shri Devendra Fadnavis, commending his assurance that abruptly shutting pigeon shelters is not a solution and welcoming his call for a practical way forward on the issue of pigeon feeding in Mumbai. In its letter, PETA India has recommended a humane and globally recognised system called the Pigeon Control Advisory Service (PiCAS) model as a win-win solution that will help control the pigeon population while also upholding tradition and compassion.
In its letter, PETA India points out that fears around pigeon-related health risks are exaggerated. An RTI response from Mumbai’s three largest civic hospitals shows that only 0.3% of respiratory illness cases in 2024 were linked to pigeon exposure. International research also demonstrates that the risk of disease transmission from pigeons to humans is very low, even for people who are in close and regular contact with them. In fact, pigeons are naturally resistant to bird flu and therefore not a major source of zoonotic disease.
PETA India also submitted testimony from its founder Ingrid Newkirk, who is the former Chief of Zoonotic Disease for the Washington DC government, confirming that the risk of casual contact with pigeons is extremely rare. On a recent trip to Mumbai, Ms Newkirk made a heartfelt video appeal for pigeon feeding to continue.
To address concerns while safeguarding pigeons and tradition, PETA India has proposed three other practical steps to the government: designating specific feeding times and hubs at kabutarkhanas, ensuring regular cleaning and sanitation at these sites, and installing multilingual messages educating the public on proper feeding practices and the minimal health risks posed by pigeons.
The PiCAS model recommended by PETA India has been successfully implemented in several European cities. This approach combines the other measures PETA India has recommended with dovecotes that allow humane population control by replacing eggs with dummy eggs. The system can be implemented easily and would allow Mumbai to reduce pigeon numbers gradually and humanely, while maintaining pigeon welfare, cultural and religious practices.
“Pigeon feeding is a humane and meaningful tradition, and solutions that are both compassionate and practical exist,” says PETA India Sr Policy Advisor Ujjwal Agrain. “The PiCAS model along with designated feeding timings and other practical measures represents a breakthrough opportunity for Mumbai to lead the nation in showing that when it comes to animal welfare and satisfying concerns about public health, we can achieve both without compromise.”
Mumbai’s kabutarkhanas are century-old spaces of cultural and religious importance, where countless citizens – many of them seniors – experience comfort and fulfilment in feeding pigeons. The birds, who have been fed at these places for generations, depend on this food source for survival. Criminalising or dismantling traditional feeding sites risks cruelty and would undermine the spirit of our Constitutional duty under Article 51A(g) to show compassion to all living beings, as well as obligations under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.
PETA India – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment or abuse in any other way” – opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETAIndia.com or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.
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