Pigeon tower in Rapoldi Park

A new home in Rapoldi Park

The pigeon tower fulfils two important functions: Firstly, the pigeons can be provided with species-appropriate food here. Urban pigeons often feed on leftovers, as they do not find enough species-appropriate food in most cities, which leads to a lack of important nutrients. Secondly, the tower provides the birds with an undisturbed place to call home and breed. To control the population size, eggs are then exchanged with dummies to reduce the population in line with animal welfare requirements.

Origin of the urban pigeon

Most urban areas will sooner or later be inhabited by urban pigeons. It proves to be extremely complicated and persistent to scare them away again. There are reasons for this:

The urban pigeon is descended from the rock pigeon and was domesticated thousands of years ago. Their eggs, meat, droppings as fertiliser and their so-called carrier pigeon behaviour have long been valued and encouraged by humans. In many religions and cultures, they symbolise peace, fertility and purity. Humans made them breed three to six times a year and always return to their birthplace on time. For around 100 years, however, their usefulness has steadily declined and they have been banished from their pigeon lofts, cones or towers to the streets. Since then, feral pigeons have sought contact with humans in the hope of finding food and shelter. If city pigeons were to be caught in large numbers and released in an idyllic wooded area, they would immediately fly back to urban areas, as they have identified human-populated cities as their own ecological niche.

Creating space for urban pigeons

A place is therefore needed where pigeons can find their place and be tolerated. To this end, a comprehensive pigeon concept was drawn up to control the pigeon population in Innsbruck in a sustainable and animal-friendly manner. A central component of this concept are supervised breeding sites, such as the pigeon tower in Rapoldi Park, which was built and installed together with the non-profit joinery Artis. Further support for the project comes from the Alpine Zoo and the Mentlberg animal shelter (Tierschutzverein für Tirol 1881). This will enable the city of Innsbruck to achieve a healthy and controlled population of urban pigeons in the medium term.