Toledo takes active action with ‘passive elements’ against pigeons

A humane way to control the population growth of the urban birds

The Toledo municipal website reported on 12 August that the city authorities have decided to take measures against the burgeoning pigeon population in the city centre. The Councilor for Works and Services and Ecological Transition, Noelia de la Cruz, reported that work had begun that day on Hombre de Palo Street to install ‘passive elements’ to control the disorder caused by the birds in the city.

Pigeon overpopulation can lead to unsanitary conditions in the urban environment

‘Passive elements’ is the term used for the approach towards bird control. The passivity, in this case, refers to the fact that no human or machine interaction will be needed in order to constantly chase away birds willing to rest or nest on various architectural elements. In fact, these kinds of elements are as low-tech as they can be, usually consisting of preventive soft spikes which dissuade the birds from perching on the flat surfaces.

When the birds are dissuaded from perching and nesting on the urban furniture of the historic centre that means less unsightly droppings. That, in turn, will result in an improvement in the cleanliness, hygiene and health of "a street that had just been renovated and that we want it to look its best" – in the words of Councilor Cruz.

This announcement was made during the regular weekly press conference, held every Thursday to publicize issues related to city management. Noelia de la Cruz explained that these tasks are being carried out through the contract that the City Council has with a company in charge of implementing control of the pigeon population to avoid hygienic, sanitary or environmental problems with the urban landscape, including heritage degradation.