2,000 pigeons shot with rifles at railway stations
Over 2,000 pigeons have been culled at UK railway stations over 16 months to mitigate health and safety risks. While operators cite passenger safety, critics argue that the use of air rifles for pest control is inhumane.
Why it matters
The report highlights the tension between public health management in urban infrastructure and animal welfare concerns.
Image source, Getty Images/Sandra Standbridge Image caption, Domesticated pigeons in the UK began to be seen as pests around the 1960s
More than 2,000 pigeons have been shot at railway stations and depots across the UK in 16 months, the BBC has found.
Professionals with air rifles shoot the pigeons at night in an effort to prevent droppings becoming slip hazards or causing illness, but critics say the method is inhumane.
Of the stations managed by state-owned companies, York Station recorded 608 birds shot between January 2025 and April of this year - 152 of them on a single day.
The data was sourced under the Freedom of Information Act which does not apply to private companies, so it is possible other stations have culled more and the total is higher than the current figure of 2,019.
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