It would be a crime to feed pigeons in Arizona under proposed bill. There's pro-pigeon pushback

Proposed legislation would make it a crime to feed pigeons in Arizona. The bill’s sponsor argues it’s a health issue, but there’s growing opposition from the pro-pigeon community.

Sen. Frank Carroll’s bill would impose fines on pigeon feeders.

The Sun City West Republican said the issue was brought to him by residents of Sun City, where he said “swarms” of pigeons are leaving droppings in residential areas.

State law allows the feeding of squirrels and birds, so the bill would target pigeons specifically.

“A person commits unlawful feeding of wildlife by intentionally, knowingly or recklessly feeding, attracting or otherwise enticing wildlife into an area, except for: Tree squirrels or birds EXCEPT PIGEONS,” the bill states.

Arizona pigeon enthusiast Phillip Fry argues there are better ways to deter nesting and improve sanitation without any need to single out pigeons.

“We’ve had pigeons for thousands of years. Humans and pigeons have always been together. And now we want to, you know, they got a really bad stigma, rats with wings and all that. And now we want to call them a nuisance and, you know, kind of turn our back on them, when really we're responsible for them being around us like they are,” Fry said.

He referred to pigeons being kept for agricultural purposes as well as means of communication before the 21st century. Now, pigeons are rarely used for either of those purposes.

Several Arizona municipalities, including Phoenix, already have ordinances banning pigeon feeding and have set fines of varying amounts.

A first violation of Carroll’s bill would result in a warning. The second violation would bring a $100 fine, and the third violation would be labeled as a “petty offense.”

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The penalties extend to residents who don’t properly dispose of food scraps or garbage that pigeons can then consume.

Carroll said the son of someone he used to work with actually caught a disease from a pigeon and died, so he’s personally familiar with the health risk pigeon feeding poses.

“I know personally of a young man back in the Chicago area when I lived up there, he raised pigeons and he died at a young age and it was a result of that,” Carroll said.

His bill makes exceptions for pigeons being used for agricultural purposes or being kept as pets.

Carroll described wild pigeons as bullies of other birds.

“If you ever watch them, they'll crowd out quail, they'll crowd out small birds and everything, and doves, and they'll keep their distance until those pigeons are done,” Carroll said.

Fry noted that pigeons are all a kind of dove, and while the media image of common pigeons has shifted into something generally negative, white doves are still seen, ironically, as a symbol of virtue.

“The pigeon was always the bird of peace. So it really has gone 180 degrees going from ‘bird of peace’ to ‘rat with wings’ today. … Pigeons have been terribly misrepresented,” Fry said.

The term “rats with wings” was coined in the 1960s to describe pigeons, which were then blamed for causing sanitation issues.

Pigeons can spread a specific type of meningitis, which doesn’t make the birds sick, but exists in their droppings as a fungus. Those spores can then become airborne and infect humans. But, it’s not just pigeons who can spread the fungus.

Fry said penalizing pigeon feeders will likely not be an effective solution to the problem anyway, since pigeons are “survivors” who don’t solely rely on humans.