Cuenca’s growing pigeon problem: Officials cite concerns about avian diseases and damage to houses

There are too many pigeons in Cuenca — more than a million, according to one ornithologist — and their overpopulation is creating public health concerns, city health officials say. Property owners are also complaining, reporting structural damage due to pigeon droppings in attics and eves.

Children are at greater risk of contracting diseases from pigeons, health officials say. Photo credit: travelblog.org.

Officials from the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Health, and city of Cuenca met last week to discuss ways to control the growing number of pigeons. The group will meet again in two weeks to review proposals about how to deal with the problem.

According to the health ministry, several recent cases of salmonella, mostly in children, can be linked to contact with pigeons.

According to Juan Corral, biologist and ornithologist, the growing numbers will result in more cases of disease transmitted to humans. “In the past five years, we have seen a 20% increase in the pigeon population and this is unsustainable,” he says. “When there are too many birds, they will spread disease more quickly among themselves and then pose a danger to the public,” he says. He said the most common diseases that can be passed to humans, called zoonotic diseases, transmitted through contact with droppings, are salmonellosis and coccidiosis.

Corra; said that pigeons can also spread epidemics, such as those seen in Southeast Asia, that spread around the world. “These are rare but in some cases, bird-to-human transmission can be deadly,” he said.

The city says it plans to launch a public information campaign to reduce the practice of feeding pigeons, mostly in public parks and plazas. Santo Domingo Plaza, Parques San Blas and San Sebastian are common flocking areas where the birds are fed by homeowners and passersby.

The city says that pigeons are also causing damage to roof and eve areas of the city’s historic houses. “As their dropping pile up near roosting areas, there is wood rot that can cost thousands of dollars to repair,” said a city health official says. “Although some homeowners use mesh to keep them out, most don’t.”

City markets have taken special precautions to keep pigeons out of areas where food is handled and sold.

In the past, there have been several cases of mass pigeon poisonings in Parque San Sebastian and San Blas that caused public outrage. Authorities believe they were the work of property owners angered over damage caused by the birds.