Neustadt presents a modern dovecote in the town hall – This is what awaits us!

Neustadt presents a modern dovecote in the town hall – This is what awaits us!

In a remarkable initiative, Mayor Stefan Ulrich and Sascha Broschat presented a modern dovecote in the attic of the Neustadt town hall. The dovecote, which opens on Friday, is intended not only to provide a home for the city's feathered residents, but also to help harmonize the coexistence of people and pigeons in the city. This step is part of a larger strategy aimed at positive effects for residents, as Rheinpfalz reports.

A key feature of this facility is the opening of two window elements that were previously closed with Plexiglas. This not only gives the pigeons free access, but they can also live and breed in the area around the town hall. The project is in line with the efforts of many cities to improve coexistence with urban poultry.

Back to nature – tips from Berlin

In Berlin, where similar projects have been implemented for some time, an animal welfare-friendly urban pigeon management concept by Dr. Kathrin Herrmann, the Berlin state animal protection officer, was initiated. This concept, which has been in the testing phase since 2023, aims to reduce conflicts between humans and pigeons. The implementation was developed in collaboration with the Senate administration and volunteer city pigeon protectors, which represents a positive signal for the entire country.
You can find more information about this at Stadttaubenprojekt Berlin.

A central component of the Berlin concept are supervised pigeon lofts, the purpose of which is to prevent buildings and monuments from being polluted by pigeon droppings. Similar to Augsburg, where such measures have been successfully implemented since the 1990s, the concept also includes health care and reproductive control of city pigeons. In Augsburg, the hatching of around 109,400 pigeon chicks was prevented between 2001 and 2016, which shows how effectively managed pigeon lofts can help reduce problems.

Cost-conscious and sustainable

Not only do the pigeons benefit from such initiatives, but also the cities themselves. Cost savings in cleaning and restoration measures on public buildings are an additional advantage that many municipalities have recognized. The effort required to process complaints about the birds could be significantly reduced through well-planned, controlled pigeon lofts, as the current coalition agreements of the CDU-SPD government show. Dr. Herrmann is optimistic about the rapid implementation of city pigeon management in other cities, which could also benefit Neustadt.

The opening of the dovecote in the Neustadt town hall is not only a sign of animal-friendly urban planning, but also an important step towards a more harmonious coexistence between people and pigeons. It remains to be seen how positively the initiative will develop, but the signs are already promising.