Pigeons Switzerland: Peace symbol and mass shooting

Pigeons are among humanity's oldest companions. For over 7,000 years they have been domesticated, revered as messengers, food providers and peace symbols. In Switzerland today, the pigeon is perhaps the most despised and least protected animal of all. Wood pigeons and collared doves are shot as small game, the feral domestic pigeon (city pigeon) is huntable year-round and is systematically combated in Swiss cities through feeding bans, harassment and official killing. The closely related turtle dove, once a symbol of love, is listed as 'vulnerable' on the global Red List and is threatened with extinction in Switzerland. The association Stadttauben Schweiz puts the absurdity succinctly: The city pigeon is a homeless, human-bred pet that we treat like a pest.

Profile

Domestic pigeon / City pigeon (Columba livia f. domestica)

The city pigeon descends from the rock dove (Columba livia) from the rock dove domesticated over 7,000 years ago in the Mediterranean and Middle East. Through breeding, hundreds of varieties were created, including carrier pigeons, meat pigeons and ornamental pigeons. Escaped and released animals formed feral populations that now live in almost every Swiss city. The feral pigeon is 30 to 35 centimeters long and weighs 250 to 380 grams. Its plumage varies greatly, from the wild form (blue-gray with two black wing bars and metallic green-violet shimmering neck) to brown, white and mottled variants. This diversity is a sign of their origin from breeding. The feral pigeon breeds year-round, as the breeding urge was bred in during domestication. It lays two eggs per brood, with up to six broods per year. The feral pigeon is huntable year-round in Switzerland under the Federal Hunting Act (JSG, Art. 5) (SRF, 2026; Government Council Basel-Stadt, 2025).

Wood pigeon (Columba palumbus)

At 40 to 42 centimeters in body length and 450 to 520 grams in weight, the wood pigeon is Europe's largest pigeon species. Its distinguishing feature is a white neck patch and white wing bars that are conspicuous in flight. The wood pigeon is a regular breeding bird and passage migrant in Switzerland. On migration they avoid the Alps and fly mainly along the Jura and through the Mittelland. In October, massive migratory flocks can be observed at certain locations (Swiss Ornithological Institute Sempach). The wood pigeon lives in copses, forests, parks and increasingly in cities. Its diet consists of seeds, buds, berries, beechnuts and acorns. The wingspan is 68 to 77 centimeters. It breeds two to three times per year, with two eggs each and an incubation period of 17 days. The wood pigeon is huntable in Switzerland (JSG, Art. 5 Para. 3).

Eurasian collared dove (Streptopelia decaocto)

At 31 to 33 centimeters in body length and 150 to 200 grams in weight, the Eurasian collared dove is significantly smaller and more delicate than the wood pigeon. Its plumage is uniformly light beige-brown, with the most striking feature being a deep black neck stripe. The Eurasian collared dove has one of the most remarkable expansion stories in ornithology: originally from Southeast Asia and the Middle East, it began a spectacular expansion to the northwest in the 1930s. It reached Vienna in 1943, Augsburg in 1946, the Netherlands in 1949, and Great Britain in 1956. In Switzerland, the population is estimated at 15,000 to 20,000 breeding pairs. The Eurasian collared dove is a human commensal that lives almost exclusively near settlements. It preferentially breeds in coniferous trees and can breed year-round under favorable conditions. The Eurasian collared dove is huntable in Switzerland. The Swiss hunting bag has fluctuated between 80 and 760 animals in the last 15 years (Wikipedia, Eurasian collared dove; Federal Hunting Statistics).

The Feral Pigeon: A Pet Without Rights

Domesticated, abandoned, persecuted

The feral pigeon is not a wild animal. It is genetically a domestic animal that through millennia of breeding has developed characteristics that are disadvantageous in the wild: year-round breeding activity independent of food supply, reduced flight behavior, site attachment and reduced territorial behavior. The association Stadttauben Schweiz documents: "Feral pigeons are homeless domestic animals bred by humans. The breeding urge was bred in during domestication" (Watson, 2023). The lawyers of the Foundation Animal Law state: "As wild animals, feral pigeons are also considered in Zurich, which is legally questionable" (Animal Law, 2023).

Despite these facts, Swiss hunting law classifies feral domestic pigeons as wild animals (JSG, Art. 5). This has far-reaching consequences: city pigeons receive no protection under domestic animal law, they can be hunted year-round, and feeding bans are enforced with the argument that wild animals are not dependent on human feeding. This argument ignores biological reality: city pigeons breed even with insufficient food supply because their reproductive drive is genetically fixed, not controlled by food availability like in true wild animals.

Feeding bans: Regulation through starvation

Since January 1, 2023, a comprehensively revised hunting law with a comprehensive feeding ban for wild animals has been in effect in Zurich canton, which is also applied to city pigeons. Despite the ban, organized groups continue feeding pigeons. The City of Zurich speaks of an escalating problem (SRF, 2025). The Foundation for City Pigeon Management Switzerland warns: «To close all food sources for pigeons in a city and consistently enforce a feeding ban would amount to a killing measure through starvation. This form of population reduction involves considerable suffering and pain for the animals and is not compatible with animal protection law» (Stadttauben Schweiz, City Pigeon Management in Swiss Cities).

The Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (BLV) confirms: «For pigeon deterrence, no methods may be used that cause unjustified pain and injuries to the animals» (BLV, Pigeons). In practice, however, animal welfare-relevant measures are employed: spike strips that can lead to severe injuries; nets behind which pigeons slip and can no longer escape; and the systematic withholding of food from animals that are genetically incapable of adapting their reproduction to food quantity.

The Augsburg Model: The only solution that works

The only demonstrably effective and animal welfare-compliant method for controlling city pigeon populations is the so-called Augsburg Model: supervised pigeon lofts where animals are fed appropriately, find nesting sites, and laid eggs are exchanged for decoys (birth control). In Basel, the Grand Council approved a pilot project with five supervised pigeon lofts in January 2026 and allocated 830,000 francs for it (SRF, 2026). In Lucerne, the city has operated a city pigeon project with two pigeon lofts and reproduction control since 2001. In Zurich there are three pigeon lofts, which according to the Association Stadttauben Schweiz are insufficient. A petition with over 9,000 signatures demands expansion (SRF, 2025).

More on this: Animal welfare problem: Wild animals die agonizingly because of hobby hunters

The hunting: Shooting practice during migration

Legal situation

According to the Federal Law on Hunting (JSG, Art. 5 Para. 3), wood pigeon and Eurasian collared dove are huntable bird species. The feral domestic pigeon can be hunted year-round. In Basel-Country canton, for example, a hunting season from August 1 to February 15 applies for wood pigeons and Eurasian collared doves (Canton BL, Hunting seasons 2024/25). Cantons can extend or restrict closed seasons. BirdLife Schweiz comments: «Ecologically completely unnecessary is not only the hunting of hares, but also that of birds» (BirdLife Schweiz, Hunting statistics). NABU demands that the wood pigeon be removed from hunting law and transferred to nature conservation law (NABU, Wood pigeon).

The dimension of the shooting

In Switzerland, wood pigeons and Eurasian collared doves are recorded in the federal hunting statistics. The Eurasian collared dove shows an extremely fluctuating hunting bag, between 80 and 760 animals in 15 years, with the canton of Zurich accounting for 65 percent (Wikipedia, Eurasian collared dove; Federal hunting statistics). Wood pigeons are killed in larger numbers; exact nationwide figures are difficult to isolate, as the statistics partially group dove species together. BirdLife Switzerland counts dove hunting among the over 23,000 shootings of wild birds that were registered in Switzerland overall in 2019 (BirdLife Switzerland, hunting statistics).

For comparison: In Germany, between 655,000 and 917,000 wild doves are killed annually (Graumännchen.org). In North Rhine-Westphalia alone, around 639,000 wild doves were shot in the 2005/2006 season. NABU documents that around half of the wood pigeon shootings in NRW took place during breeding season, 'which among other things results in the orphaning and starvation of young birds. This is incompatible with animal welfare laws and an ethically responsible treatment of animals' (NABU NRW, wood pigeon).

The turtle dove: The warning that nobody hears

The turtle dove (Streptopelia turtur) is the smallest European dove species and has been listed on the IUCN global Red List as 'vulnerable' (VU) since 2015. Worldwide, every third turtle dove has disappeared in the last 16 years. In Switzerland, populations are small, declining and 'critically endangered' (BirdLife Switzerland, 2023). A population survey in Geneva (GOBG, 2017–2019) showed a dramatic decline to only 16 territories, a decrease of 70 percent since 1998. The BAFU/Vogelwarte Red List of breeding birds in Switzerland (2021) classifies the turtle dove as 'critically endangered' (CR) and warns: 'The prospects are increasingly bleak. Its survival in Switzerland is in question.'

The turtle dove is not huntable in Switzerland, but it still dies: from agricultural intensification, from pesticide use, from the loss of fallow land and hedges, and from hunting and poaching on migration routes through the Mediterranean region, where millions of turtle doves are shot annually (BirdLife International, 2018). The turtle dove shows what happens when a dove species faces multiple threats. Wood pigeons and Eurasian collared doves are not yet on the Red List today. But the turtle dove was not on it either, before it was too late.

More on this: Dossier: Hunting and biodiversity

Intelligence: More than a 'bird brain'

Navigation: The biological GPS

Pigeons possess one of the most complex navigation systems in the animal kingdom. A study by Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU), published in 2025 in Science, has deciphered the neural mechanism of their magnetic sense: Specialized hair cells in the inner ear convert magnetic fields into electrical signals through electromagnetic induction, which are transmitted via the vestibular nucleus to the mesopallium (a brain region for complex processing). Professor David Keays (LMU) describes the system as a 'biological GPS' that functions according to the same physical principle as wireless charging of smartphones (LMU Munich, Science 2025).

Already in 2012, Le-Qing Wu and David Dickman (Baylor College of Medicine, Houston) demonstrated in Science that nerve cells in the brainstem of pigeons encode direction, intensity and polarity of the magnetic field, enabling the birds to calculate both cardinal direction and geographic latitude (Spektrum der Wissenschaft, 2012). Pigeons combine this magnetic sense with sun compass, olfactory orientation and visual landmark recognition. A study by the University of Zurich showed with a mini-neurologger that the brain activity of a carrier pigeon increases dramatically when it recognizes a familiar terrain feature (Vyssotski, Current Biology).

Cognitive Abilities

Pigeons can memorize over 800 different images and correctly categorize them weeks later. Researchers from the University of Bochum and the University of Otago (New Zealand) demonstrated in 2016 that pigeons can learn English spelling and distinguish correctly spelled words from nonsense words. A US study showed that pigeons process time and space in similarly abstract ways as humans and apes (Meinbezirk.at, 2021). Pigeons can furthermore form categories, distinguish between art styles (Monet vs. Picasso), recognize faces and even apply basic mathematical principles. All these abilities were demonstrated in domesticated pigeons, precisely those animals we disparage as 'rats of the sky'.

Ecological Significance

Seed Dispersal

Wood pigeons and Eurasian collared doves eat berries, beechnuts, acorns and seeds and disperse these through their excretions over wide distances. As migratory birds, wood pigeons contribute to connecting plant populations that are increasingly isolated due to landscape fragmentation.

Food Chain

Pigeons are a central prey for birds of prey. The peregrine falcon has established itself as an urban bird because the feral pigeon represents its main prey. The rock dove, ancestral form of the domestic pigeon, was the main prey of the peregrine falcon in the Mediterranean region. Northern goshawks and Eurasian sparrowhawks also regularly prey on wood pigeons. The eagle owl, the largest European owl, feeds predominantly on wood pigeons in many regions (Graumännchen.org). Without pigeons, the populations of these birds of prey and owls would be endangered.

Carrion Removal and Ground Cleaning

Feral pigeons remove food scraps and waste in public squares. This service is never quantified, but it relieves municipal cleaning services and reduces the food supply for rats. Where feral pigeons are consistently driven away, it is not the residents who benefit, but the rat populations.

What Would Need to Change

Removal of wood pigeon and Eurasian collared dove from the list of huntable species: The hunting of pigeons has no reasonable justification under animal welfare law. The wood pigeon is a migratory bird species whose hunting during breeding season leads to orphaning of young birds. The Eurasian collared dove shows a population decline of over 40 percent in North Rhine-Westphalia; its hunting in Switzerland cannot be justified.
Reclassification of feral pigeons as feral domestic animals: The legal classification of feral pigeons as wild animals is scientifically incorrect and ethically untenable. Feral domestic pigeons are genetically domestic animals whose behavior has been shaped by millennia of breeding. They belong under the protection of domestic animal law, not under hunting legislation.
Supervised pigeon lofts in all Swiss cities following the Augsburg model: The only demonstrably effective and animal welfare-compliant method for population control of feral pigeons is the combination of supervised pigeon lofts, controlled feeding and egg replacement. Feeding bans alone do not reduce pigeon populations, as breeding activity is genetically determined. They merely lead to malnutrition, disease and animal suffering.
Ban on animal welfare-incompatible deterrent measures: Spiked sleeves that injure pigeons, poison baits and nets that trap pigeons must be banned and consistently prosecuted.
Protection of the turtle dove and its habitats: Switzerland must advocate internationally for a complete hunting moratorium on the turtle dove and promote fallow fields, hedgerows and structurally diverse agricultural areas nationally that serve the turtle dove as breeding and feeding habitat.

Arguments

«Urban pigeons are ‹rats of the sky› and disease carriers.» The term «rats of the sky» originates from a 1951 documentary film and is a propaganda term without scientific basis. While the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO) lists theoretical disease risks, actual transmission to humans is extremely rare. Studies show that the risk from urban pigeons is no greater than from other wild birds. The defamation of the urban pigeon as a hygiene threat serves to make the deterrence and killing of a defenseless animal socially acceptable.

«Feeding bans are necessary to control the pigeon population.» Feeding bans do not reduce the pigeon population. Since breeding activity is genetically fixed, even malnourished urban pigeons continue to reproduce. The result is not fewer pigeons, but sicker pigeons that evoke more sympathy from passersby and are therefore fed more often in secret. The Stadttauben Schweiz Foundation documents: «As a single measure, a feeding ban has hardly any influence on population size» (Stadttauben Schweiz, Management Paper). The Augsburg model with supervised dovecotes and egg replacement is the only demonstrably effective solution.

«The wood pigeon is common and causes damage in agriculture.» The fact that a species is common does not automatically make its killing permissible. Animal welfare law requires a reasonable justification. Damage caused by wood pigeons in Swiss agriculture is locally limited and manageable with deterrent measures (visual means, diversionary feeding). In Germany, over 700,000 wild pigeons are shot annually without sustainably reducing the population. If shooting shows no sustainable effect, it is not damage prevention but recreational killing.

«Feral domestic pigeons are wild animals and subject to hunting law.» The legal classification as a wild animal does not change the biological reality. Geneticists and behavioral biologists agree: feral domestic pigeons remain genetically domestic animals. Norbert Bernecke quotes in the standard work on animal domestication: «Feral domestic animals remain genetically domestic animals.» The urban pigeon is site-bound, not shy, reproductively dependent on humans (bred year-round breeding) and unable to respond to food shortages with reduced reproduction like a wild animal. Treating it as a wild animal is a legal fiction that contradicts animal welfare.

«The hunting of wild pigeons has tradition and belongs to small game hunting.» The tradition of pigeon hunting is not an argument for its continuation. In the Mediterranean region, millions of migratory birds, including turtle doves, are shot annually. The Europe-wide declining populations of many migratory bird species show that cumulative hunting along migration routes is not sustainable. The NABU therefore demands that all migratory bird species be removed from hunting law. Switzerland should lead the way here, not lag behind.

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Sources

Federal Hunting Statistics, FOEN/Wildlife Switzerland: http://www.jagdstatistik.ch
Swiss Ornithological Institute Sempach: Common Wood Pigeon, Species Portrait (vogelwarte.ch)
BirdLife Switzerland: Current Hunting Statistics and the Revised Hunting Act (birdlife.ch)
BirdLife Switzerland (2023): New Red List of Globally Threatened Species, Swiss Classification (birdlife.ch)
BirdLife International (2018): State of the World’s Birds, Red List of Birds
FOEN / Swiss Ornithological Institute (2021): Red List of Breeding Birds Switzerland (Turtle Dove: CR)
NABU NRW: Common Wood Pigeon, Hunting and Breeding Season Shootings (nabu.de)
NABU: Position Paper on Hunting, Demand to Remove Wood Pigeon from Hunting Law (nabu.de)
Government Council Basel-Stadt (2025): Urban Pigeon Concept, Pilot Project Supervised Dovecotes (bs.ch)
SRF (2026): Basel Should Get Five Dovecotes, Initiative Wants More (srf.ch)
SRF (2025): Defiant Pigeon Feeders Resist the Law (srf.ch)
Watson (2023): The Pigeon War Rages in Zurich (watson.ch)
City of Zurich: Pigeons, Feeding Ban from 2023 (stadt-zuerich.ch)
FSVO Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office: Pigeons (blv.admin.ch)
Urban Pigeons Switzerland: Urban Pigeon Management in Swiss Cities (stadttauben.ch)
Animal Rights Foundation: Urban Pigeon as Wildlife, Legally Questionable (tierimrecht.org, quoted in Watson)
Keays, D. et al. (2025): Magnetic Sense in Pigeons, Inner Ear and Electromagnetic Induction. Science (LMU Munich)
Wu, L.-Q. and Dickman, D. (2012): GPS of Carrier Pigeons Located in Brain. Science (Baylor College of Medicine)
Vyssotski, A. et al.: Brain Activity of Free-Flying Carrier Pigeons, Mini-Neurologgers. Current Biology (University of Zurich)
Wikipedia: Eurasian Collared-Dove, Swiss Population (15,000–20,000 Breeding Pairs, Hunting Bag 80–760)
Graumännchen.org: Wild Pigeons (Wood Pigeon Shooting Germany 655,000–917,000)
Canton Basel-Landschaft: Hunting Seasons 2024/25 (Wood Pigeon, Collared-Dove)
IG Wild beim Wild (2022/2025): Hunting Statistics 2022 (wildbeimwild.com)
Federal Act on Hunting and the Protection of Wild Living Mammals and Birds (JSG, SR 922.0)
Animal Welfare Act (TSchG, SR 455)

Our Standards

Pigeons are fascinating animals. They possess a biological navigation system that science has only begun to decipher in 2025 — a 'GPS in the inner ear' based on the principle of electromagnetic induction. They can memorize hundreds of images, process time and space abstractly, and learn the rules of human spelling. They have served humans as messengers in wars, shaped millennia of cultural history as symbols of peace and love, and provided essential insights into neurobiology and cognition as research subjects.

And what do we do with them? We shoot the wood pigeon during autumn migration because it is supposedly a 'delicious quarry.' We hunt the Eurasian collared dove, which has only settled in Switzerland in recent decades. We defame the city pigeon as a 'rat of the sky' and try to starve it through feeding bans, even though we ourselves bred it as a domestic animal and then abandoned it. And we watch as the turtle dove, once a symbol of love, faces extinction in Switzerland and is shot by the millions along migration routes through the Mediterranean region.

The consequence is clear: wood pigeons and Eurasian collared doves must be removed from the catalog of huntable species. The city pigeon must be recognized as a feral domestic animal and provided for in all Swiss cities with supervised dovecotes according to the Augsburg model. And Switzerland must advocate internationally for a complete hunting moratorium on the turtle dove. This dossier will be continuously updated when new figures, studies, or political developments require it.

More on recreational hunting: In our hunting dossier we compile fact-checks, analyses, and background reports.