Contrary to popular notions, pigeons do not carry fleas which bite humans. They play host to certain parasites, but this they have in common with all wild creatures, and not even the most hysterical devotee of hygiene would want every species wiped out because they harbour a few lice. In fact the only real 'crime' pigeons commit is leaving an unsightly mess (biodegradable to a greater degree) in a few corners in our towns and cities, for which they are sentenced to death by a race which has irreparably polluted the whole planet, the oceans and even space itself.
So are we really justified in labelling the pigeon as a destructive element? Another most unpalatable fact concerning their association with man involves members of their large family who have been made extinct. We are all familiar with the image of the Dodo, but how many people realise this gentle flightless islander was actually a pigeon? The Passenger Pigeon was reckoned to be the most numerous bird in the world until this century when the very last one died in a zoo, her fellows having been blown into permanent oblivion by 'sportsmen' glutted on blood.
In all fairness, we owe a debt to pigeons if only as a means of righting a terrible wrong. Before we attach the word 'vermin' to any creature, let us learn to consider ourselves not as the dominant and all-powerful dispenser of malevolence or mercy, but as fellow beings who display the same desire to preserve our existence in a state as near approaching happiness as possible.
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