50+ Baby King Pigeons Dumped at SF Park

Rescue Report readers know that we're always struggling to find enough caring, committed adopters for all the king pigeons that wind up in Bay Area shelters but on Monday, 6/22, things got even worse.

SF Animal Control Officers were called out to Lake Merced to rescue more than 50 king pigeons dumped there by a monk, according to bystanders. (There is a Buddhist tradition of releasing animals but I don't know for sure what the purpose in this case was.) Many of the birds are marked with pink dye. Upon arrival, 15 of the birds were already dead and officers saw a hawk flying away with another one. They were able to pick up 35 survivors that were huddled together (they are just babies- barely a month old) but had to leave several behind that were hiding in impenetrable poison oak tangles.

King pigeons are domestic and unable to survive in the wild. They are bred to be eaten as squab and are sold to restaurants and at live food markets. They are usually white because white feathers are the byproduct of the pink skin they're bred to have. Consumers prefer to eat pink-skinned animals (also why Foster's Chickens are white). King pigeons are also commonly used as lab animals.




Of the 35 taken in by SFACC, we've been able to place 4 with adopters. One that was sick and brought home for foster and vet care, has since died.



Southern California rescuers are taking in 16 (transportation being provided by a Mickaboo volunteer) next week but the rest are still in grave danger. SFACC is full up with abandoned and surrendered animals and these baby pigeons are at risk of being euthanized for space (though SFACC is working hard to give us time to find them homes).

Marin Humane Society has kindly taken in the seven king pigeons that were already waiting for homes at SFACC when this new batch was brought in.



And of course my loft of fosters is full to overflowing as is Andy's Pet Shop.

Please help spread the word about these sweet birds. Contact me at AdoptKings@gmail.com for adoption information.