Pigeons, Doves, and more Common Knowledge

A Preliminary Conversation About "Sky Rats"...

Through the human lens, all animals which exist carry the burden of stereotypes. These stereotypes are often based upon appearance or exhibitions of natural, animalistic instinct (for clarification, I do not agree with this link; it exhibits the behavior I am describing). Pigeons carry this additional burden. It is one of disease, filth, and nusiance. If you are already an animal lover (in the sense that you appreciate all life), you likely do not think this way. However, in order to make the argument that pigeons are worth appreciating, I have to acknowledge these people, who only appreciate an animal via beauty or function alone, looking little at their historical relevance or majesty of life. These are not people I fraternize or agree with, but for the purpose of this lovepage, I will appeal to them (also as the subject of pigeons and doves are particularly entangled with these types of people, due to their extensive fancy varieties). In order to convey (to most individuals) that pigeons are worth appreciating, I have to appeal to the primal human desire for them to exist without harm to the human life. While pigeons can carry disease (quite a lot of diseases, in fact), an extremely rare amount of them are fatal to humans. In fact, it is quite difficult to become infected by a pigeon... their beaks are weak, and their talons, too. A pigeon cannot hurt you. A pigeon is often afraid of you. This, at last, is usually enough to convince the average person, who has become swayed by the stereotype of the pigeon, that they are largely nonoffensive creatures.

It is believed that 10,000 years ago, humans domesticated the pigeon for many purposes, including communications, religion, and entertainment. They were viewed as a symbol of fertility and were often used for celebratory purposes. They were appraised as icons of jovial humanity. They were considered very important, before they fell out of the common need. As for their skills, the common pigeon has an incredible homing instinct, spurring the development of the homing pigeon - also known as a mail or messenger pigeon - which could transmit important information at long distances. This is a particularly notorious trait of pigeons; they even sent military information during the World Wars. Pigeons are therefore known for being rather hardy birds, and viable for training. They require a significantly low amount of care compared to other avian pets, such as parrots; this is not to say parrots should never be a pet at all, but that many people aren't equipped for the heavy responsibilities that come with a parrot. Pigeons are relatively domesticated as they come, and therefore lovely pets.

Something vital to note about pigeons is, due to how long ago they were domesticated, and how quickly we gave them up for technological advances, nearly every pigeon you see in a city (almost always a rock pigeon, or rock dove) has little survival instinct. They do not hunt, use tools, or otherwise fend for themselves at all. In fact, their beaks and claws are very weak; a pet pigeon can't reasonably harm you like a parrot can. They are mostly defenseless, lonely, and unhappy outdoors. They are similar to stray cats in this way, however are overlooked due to their associations with being diseased rats.

It should be noted that this defenselessness is not found in all birds in the columbidae family - the vast majority of birds within columbidae are wild, and not feral strays, as city pigeons are. Some of them are not unhappy outdoors; they prefer it to indoor life. To brief, I find it deeply significant, as a person who cares about animal welfare, to dissuade the common belief that these birds - especially the most targeted, the rock pigeon - are harmful, wretched, or carriers of deadly human disease. Discouraging these beliefs is important to me. Pigeons and doves, by extension, are wonderful.

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A Note on Doves...

How do doves fit into this conversation? Well... doves and pigeons are nearly the same. A pigeon is typically a more bulky dove, and a dove typically a slimmer pigeon. In fact, I personally find it important to refer to them as pigeons, as doves recieve none of the treatment that pigeons do, and I have the need to urge others to educate themselves about pigeons and their history. Doves carry the connotations of purity, hope, and freedom - symbolism which pigeons shared, too, until the stigma began surrounding them. Doves are imagined with lighter palettes, and therefore thought of as cleaner than a bird with a grey, oil-like feather pattern.

It is sad to see the double standard, as they are both in the same animal family, and are both quite beautiful.

The Ethicality of Fancy Pigeons...

On fancy pigeons, I feel mixed. A "fancy pigeon" itself is not a specific species, but rather a term which denotes a domestic pigeon which has been selectively bred in order to carry a particular trait or traits. In many cases, there is nothing directly offensive about this, as long as the birds are treated well and cared for, however the ethics of selective breeding - even more particularly, pigeon breeders, and fanciers by comparison - often encourages the opposite of this behavior. Pigeon breeders can do well, can care for their pigeons excellently, can give their birds the best quality of life; yet, at most opportunities, breeders prove this concept wrong by the very nature of their craft. Creating new breeds of pigeon for ornamental purposes appeals to the human interest in visual beauty alone, and disregards the fact that animals should not be judged on this societal, competitive nature.

Due to the fact that fancy pigeons are nearly always being developed for exhibition in shows, carnivals, fests, and events of that nature (in fact, this is the very origin of fancy pigeons), breeders are often attempting to develop deformities which create a violently striking and posh appearance. This means that, in turn, they are often not attempting to consider the bird's health. I would love to admire fancy pigeons as they are, but it is difficult to do so when so many breeds exist as a result of the twisted desire to create something new or unusual exhibited by fanciers. Not to say all fancy pigeons are deeply unethical at their core - many, many fancy pigeons are fully healthy, happy, and pain-free birds, living their lives most comfortably. But there is a significant danger and a slippery slope that comes with creating animals in this manner.

I would like to point out the particular health problems which come with the extreme end of fancy pigeon breeds. A pigeon with foot feathering can live comfortably - it can even create a healthy warmth for their toes. However, on the extreme level, this is done only for cosmetics and gives many birds mobility issues, as their feathers are so large it disrupts their movement. Most American Lahore pigeons have a healthy level of foot feathering. The Bokhara Trumpeter tends to have enlarged foot feathers, though, and this causes quality of life problems. Quite a few pigeons, such as the Egyptian Moraslat, have elongated beaks resembling an elephant's trumpet. This makes it remarkably difficult for them to eat, preen, or use their beaks at all. Additionally, any pigeon which has had their head pushed back or their crop enlarged to the point of difficulty seeing not only struggles to understand their environment due to blind spots, but also cannot bob their heads (which is vital to their social function). Don't get me started on tumblers and rollers; birds specifically developed to encourage certain neurological inclinations, which give them painful and involuntary jerks that disorient them when they attempt flight, creating a "rolling" motion to be presented as a trick in bird shows and other exhibitions. The exact origin of the gene is unknown, but it is painful and unhealthy. They can't even fly, most of the time. Here is more information on tumblers and rollers.

Again, I must clarify that this does not serve to demonize all fancy breeds. I simply cannot get behind individuals who endorse brutally malforming their show pigeons and racing pigeons for their own personal entertainment. These developments put many birds in pain and lower their quality of life.