This is really about cats so please don’t run away. You’ll discover a parallel between pigeons and cats.
Not everyone hates pigeons, but a lot of people do. They are referred to a “rats with wings”. Other names are “gutter birds”, “sky rats” and “flying ashtrays” – all heavily derogatory names, indicating a strong dislike of these birds. The pigeon is a domesticated rock dove first brought to the UK in the 1600s. Pigeon fanciers don’t like them because they give their purebred birds a bad name.
The public don’t like them because there are lots of them. They are excellent survivors. People who hate them say they spread disease and damage buildings. However, there is little or no evidence to support the disease spreading allegation. Also pigeons have been very useful to people. I am referring to the war years and carrier pigeons.
When I feed a couple of robins in the garden, the London pigeons come flying in. They push the robins out of the way. I try and scare them off. One neighbour has complained about the pigeons (normally a group of about 6) but no one complains about feeding robins. This is highly discriminatory.
Can you see a similarity between the public’s perception of the feral pigeon and the feral cat? There is a close similarity in image. The feral cat is also a good survivor in a very difficult and hostile human environment. They, too, are seen to spread disease and both pigeon and feral cat can breed fast. Both have short lifespans of 3-4 years. This is much shorter than their domestic lifespan of about 15 years. Both are considered non-native.
We have to agree that the feral cat and feral pigeon live parallel lives at a fundamental level. Importantly, both are reviled by a considerable segment of society. Why?
The reasons why some people hate feral cats and feral pigeons
The public’s dislike of pigeons is due to our hard wired instinct to survive. Humans have a fear of pigeons that is hard wired into their brains from caveman times when birds were much larger. Millions of years ago birds were a danger to people. Our brains are now programmed to play safe. We see pigeons as a threat to our survival. This is no longer rational and a lot of people are able to see through this fear. Indeed pigeon fanciers like and breed pigeons.
I would argue that the exact same hard wired survival instinct from millions of years ago is why a large number of people dislike, even hate the feral cat. They are frightened of them and consider them a threat to human survival. An irrational, but subconsciously active, mental process. Millions of years ago before domestication, wild cats would have posed a threat to the survival of people who were exposed to predation by large cats. This fear has been passed down in human DNA over millennia.
So, there you have it. People who shoot feral cats are actually scared of them! Poor things. Big, macho Woodsman, the archetypical cat hater with rifle and four-wheel drive pickup is scared of cats. Incidentally, in my opinion, this is also the underlying reason why people declaw cats.
It’s said every creature has a purpose although I can’t think what purpose snakes for example have,maybe they are predators to some other creature in Mother Nature’s plan?
All creatures have natural predators to keep their numbers under control but humans have messed that up by interfering.
Tell me what purpose humans have?
What are our predators?Other humans,accidents and diseases I suppose.But these predators take good people as well as bad.
I don’t understand why at all.
It makes me sad that some people lump a species together, such as ‘I hate all cats’ not thinking that each individual cat didn’t choose to be born as a cat, the same with pigeons, grey squirrels, etc etc.
They had no choice!
Imagine saying ‘I hate all people and want them dead’ just because some people are cruel, we didn’t choose to be born as people and I for one am ashamed of being born one because of the way some people target a certain species.
You’ll not find any other species than human hating other living beings just because they have the capacity to feel hatred and don’t want them in ‘their’ world. If animals and birds and fish could feel hatred I’m sure they’d despise the ever breeding human race (one baby born every minute of every hour of every day) for what they are doing to our supposed to be shared world. Again people no matter how cruel they are have the right to life and many think that they are superior to other species and that it’s OK to hate, use, abuse, experiment on, or eat them.
Live and LET live!
Thanks for the comment VG. V.interesting. As mentioned I have read and heard about people being actually frightened of pigeons and certainly there are many millions who are scared of cats. I wonder if people are also scared of them because they survive and breed well. That seems to pose a threat to human dominance on the planet. I don’t think it is rational but a dominant species does not want a challenge from any other species. It might be a fear of the species of birds that are pigeons rather individual pigeons.
Is it true that of all the mammals, humans are the best breeders?
Michael,
To parse your original post- you said (summing up, that many people dislike pigeons, b/c they see them as a threat to our survival).
And, above, that a reason people fear them is because they breed faster than humans. And, what exactly do you mean by “fear”? Are you talking on the individual level? I mean, are there individuals who, upon encountering a pigeon, have physiological fear anxiety reactions that are acute? Racing breath, mobilization of the sympathetic nervous system fight or flight reaction? Pigeon phobia.
Update to above paragraph, after doing some googling, yes apparently there are people who react this way to pigeons. That came as a total surprise to me, I admit.
snippet ~~Phobias are very common – it is believed that at least one person in 10 is affected at some time in their life. And phobias about animals and birds are among the commonest of all. Pigeons, cats and dogs can be a particular problem, because there are so many of them around. A severe phobia about them can be as disabling as any anxiety disorder. Even fear of rats, frogs and snakes, which most people seldom encounter, can be the cause of much misery in certain circumstances.~~
Some people become almost prisoners in their own homes for fear of common creatures like cats and dogs, pigeons and other birds.
Some people are convinced that they will have a panic attack and lose control if they even see film of the creature they fear on TV.~~
However, I did find the comment from this link peculiar (and following comments amusing)
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60763-i5-k5801017-Bird_phobia-New_York_City_New_York.html
~~When I was in New York last year I was actually attacked and killed by a pigeon in the lower east side. It was a nasty incident that I wouldn’t wish to occur again. If you dress as a scarecrow, as I plan to do next time I visit, you may escape with your life. Good luck.~~
My own loathing for pigeons comes from threat to native species, as Howard mentions above. Same as my loathing for Eastern grey squirrels (rats with fluffy tails) who are total pests, and have driven out the American red squirrel in some places. (And, btw, Eastern grey squirrels introduced to UK are driving out european red squirrel)
Almost every non-mammalian animal breeds faster (shorter generation time) than do humans, btw.
Any, thanks for an interesting topic, Michael.
Michael its usually a case of nuture or nature with nuts like Woody either he’s been bought (or rather dragged) up by hateful parents who have unleashed all their hate and pent up agression on him or its nature whereby he was born evil and evil he will stay.
I think it is on-topic. The pigeon is a very adept survivor. It seems that your comment supports my theory.
High pigeon numbers do not threaten human survival but they might threaten environmental quality and perhaps native species.
There would appear to be a reason for humans to fear them. People don’t like other animals breeding as fast as them. No, that would never be acceptable.