Nicarbazin has no effect on reducing feral pigeon populations in Barcelona.

Abstract

Nicarbazin is an anti-coccidial product sometimes used as a contraceptive to reduce the size of feral pigeon populations. However, its effectiveness in reducing pigeon population size in cities has caused some controversy. Here, we evaluate its effectiveness in the city of Barcelona. In 2017, the Barcelona City Council set 23 feeding stations with nicarbazin and ten with placebo (untreated corn). Censuses were undertaken before and after one year of treatment, within a 200-m radius around each feeder. We also censused 28 circles of 200 m radius distributed randomly 200 m from the feeders and 28 circles > 500 m from the feeders, which acted as controls. Population size across the whole city was also evaluated pre- and post treatment. We found that feral pigeon density did not change after one year of treatment, either in the circles around feeding stations with nicarbazin or in the areas around control stations at 200 and > 500 m from the feeders. Population size in placebo circles rose after a year by 10%. A pigeon census for the whole of Barcelona showed a 10% increase. Overall, our results indicate that the nicarbazin treatment had no effect on feral pigeon population size, and we advise against its use as a pigeon control method, at least in large cities.