A man took a video showing at least two pigeons convulsing on the ground at Jalan Sultan, and expressed his worry that the birds might have contracted Covid-19.

The two-minute video has been widely circulated on both Facebook and WhatsApp since April 9.

Pigeons "twitching like human-beings with Covid-19"

In the video, the man described the pigeons as "twitching", and "almost dying".

*Graphic warning*

He said that he called SCDF and the police, but was asked to turn to the relevant agencies for this matter.

The man was worried because the birds appeared to be having difficulties in breathing.

"This is serious, because [they're] twitching just like human-beings with the Covid-19 and they are catching for breath and they are twitching," he said in the video.

"What's going on? Is this serious...got to do with Covid-19?" he asked towards the end of the video.

He also added that he's wearing a mask and avoided getting close to the pigeons.

Here's the video:

Pigeons culled by town council

Speaking to Mothership, a spokesperson from the Jalan Besar Town Council confirmed that the pigeons were culled on April 8 at around 5pm after they had received complaints from residents living in the vicinity.

The pigeons did not die from Covid-19.

This was also confirmed by Kalai Vanan, wildlife rescue group Acres's deputy chief executive officer, who said that the pigeons in the video had been poisoned during a culling operation.

Such operations by town councils have been practised for years.

Kalai also said that the culling efforts have not been scientifically proven to be effective, and are also cruel to animals.

"Acres has noticed an increase in islandwide culling operations since the virus outbreak. We would like to however point out that these culling operations are putting dying birds at closer proximity to people and the result will be an increase in overall pigeon population. We would like to urge all town councils to stop this cruel and ineffective method and adopt more long term solutions as eradicating food waste provisions and enforcement against people who feed pigeons."

Acres also urged the town councils to review their methods, adding that culling operations will cause panic among people during this period.

No evidence that pigeons can become sick from Covid-19

In response to Mothership's query, the National Parks Board (NParks) said that it is in contact with the Jalan Besar Town Council about their recent pigeon control operations where some pigeons were spotted in a "bad shape".

The pigeons in the video are not infected by COVID-19.

There is currently no evidence that pigeons can be a source of infection for the COVID-19 virus or that they can become sick from it, the director of NParks, How Choon Beng said.

NParks also added that they have been engaging the Town Councils to share with them guidelines that will ensure that the pigeon control operations are done "humanely".

Here's the statement in full:

The National Parks Board (NParks) is in contact with the Jalan Besar Town Council about their recent pigeon control operations where some pigeons were spotted in a bad shape. The pigeons are not infected by Covid-19. There is currently no evidence that pigeons can be a source of infection for the Covid-19 virus or that they can become sick from it.

NParks has been engaging Town Councils to share with them pigeon control operation guidelines to ensure that the process is carried out humanely. For example, pest companies must ensure that the bird management measures they use are humane and not result in any form of cruelty to the bird(s). We have also advised the Town Council to use more humane options such as trapping and subsequent euthanasia. Property management staff (e.g. Town Council, condominium management) should also be present to supervise the pest control personnel during the entire operations. They are also encouraged to put up notices in common areas prior to the start of pigeon control operations. 

Rock Pigeons (Columba livia) are not native birds and are an invasive species in Singapore. Their droppings dirty the environment, is unhygienic and causes disamenities like the soiling of clothes. Leftover food from pigeon feeding may attract other pests, like rats, that carry diseases and pose a risk to public health.

NParks takes a science-based approach towards the management of invasive bird species. This requires a holistic approach incorporating the removal of food sources made available by humans, habitat modification, population control strategies such as culling, and studies to understand the population ecology of the birds such as their roosting patterns and movements. The public can help to mitigate population growth and congregation issues by not feeding birds and disposing of food scraps properly. If the removal of food sources and habitat modification are successful, we can rely less on removal of pigeons. 

Top photo via video