Green councillors consider pigeon contraception to tackle bird droppings problem

Green councillors in Norwich have floated the idea of using contraception to curb the city's pigeon population, sparking a row in the city.

Food traders at the market say the birds are causing chaos, with too many people feeding pigeons at the nearby war memorial.

Stallholders report that the animals are disrupting their businesses while costing the council thousands of pounds in cleaning bills for the memorial.

Some Green councillors have backed "pigeon contraception" as a humane method of reducing bird numbers and the accompanying guano.

While the Greens and a conservation group called Peck Savers have opposed plans to ban pigeon-feeding, it has become a hot topic in the city.

Carli Harper, who leads the Labour group on Norwich City Council, said the pigeon issue had generated the biggest stir among residents.

She questioned the practicality of the contraception proposal, noting that no suitable products are currently licensed and warning it "would have a massive impact on other bird species."

Councillor Harper said: "We had one of their candidates turn up to the full council, where this was raised as a petition, in a pigeon mask.

"One of the newly elected green City councillors proudly over the last week or two has sat on the war memorial with pigeon food, taking pictures of herself covered in pigeons."

In response, Lucy Galvin, the Green Leader of Norwich City Council, pushed back against the criticism, insisting her party was not opposed to managing the pigeon population.

She told The Times: "Our priority is to work on evidence-based solutions that are effective, good value for money for the public, and are humane."

When asked about the pigeon contraceptive proposals, Councillor Galvin said the claim was "mooted", but likely as an option raised "in one meeting that should be looked at with everything else".

She added: "We haven’t put it forward, it’s not licensed in this country. So it’s not an option frankly."

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The dispute is just one issue causing clashes between Labour and the Greens over the direction of Norwich City Council since the May elections.

In Norwich, the Greens also attempted to bestow the Freedom of the City on the River Wensum, an ancient civic honour traditionally reserved for individuals who have made outstanding contributions to local life.

Councillor Galvin said her party "make no apology for caring about the river," describing it as "an incredibly important part of the city."

She clarified what her party had been pushing for was actually charter status, a legal or moral recognition of a river as a living ecosystem, under the ceremonial Freedom of the City title.

However, Councillor Harper said the proposal to give the award to the river had been “bonkers”.

She said: "It’s so performative. It is massive immaturity and naivety but it’s also this preoccupation with virtue signaling rather than getting on with the day-to-day practical work it takes to run a council."

"Local government has been cut to the bone since 2010, and actually it helps no one to waste time on things that are performative when we have critical services that people rely on us for."

The party also raised eyebrows after it removed armrests from park benches to make them more accessible for rough sleepers.

Labour's Mike Stonard, deputy leader of the opposition group and a senior figure in the previous administration, was scathing about the bench armrest removal, calling it "quite remarkable" and comparing it to "student union politics."

He described the move as "insulting to street-homeless people," arguing the Greens had spent years attacking Labour over rough sleeping only to offer this as their sole initiative.

Councillor Galvin rejected the characterisation, insisting homelessness was "absolutely a priority" and pointing to housebuilding plans."

She said: "There will be a concerted effort [from opposition parties] to run some lines that all the Greens are silly. We've always faced that. But we’re here, we’ve been in opposition for a long time and we’ve worked really hard for the city even in opposition.

"We really want to use this time that we’ve now got the administration to really get some of this stuff done — we know what we’re doing and we’re getting on with it."