Second Protest Planned at Stadelhoferplatz Over Zürich Pigeon Culling
Animal rights activists are returning to the streets this Saturday after videos of city rangers trapping and killing pigeons at Stadelhoferplatz sparked a wave of public outrage earlier this month.
A second demonstration in support of Zürich's urban pigeon population is scheduled for this Saturday afternoon at Stadelhoferplatz, organised by Animal Rights March Switzerland. The protest follows a similar gathering at Europaplatz last weekend, which drew dozens of participants.
The controversy began in early April when bystanders filmed city wildlife rangers trapping pigeons in large cages at Stadelhoferplatz before culling them on the spot — either by shooting or by breaking their necks. The footage spread rapidly online, triggering a social media backlash so intense that the City of Zürich was forced to restrict comment functions on its official profiles.
Animal Rights March Switzerland argues that culling and feeding bans are not only cruel but also ineffective, saying such measures cause unnecessary stress to animals during breeding season without producing any lasting reduction in population size. The group is instead calling on the city to adopt the so-called Augsburg Model — a humane population management approach already in use in several German cities as well as Winterthur.
What is the Augsburg Model?
Rather than culling, the Augsburg approach involves setting up managed dovecotes in locations where pigeons already gather. Eggs laid in these shelters are replaced with decoys, gradually reducing the population over time. The birds receive species-appropriate food, regular veterinary care, and clean living conditions. Wild nesting sites are sealed off to encourage use of the managed shelters. Proponents say the method produces a stable, healthy pigeon population with significantly less fouling of buildings and public spaces.
The City of Zürich has defended its approach as a targeted and necessary measure, citing the approximately 80 tonnes of pigeon droppings that accumulate across the city each year, causing structural damage to buildings and posing hygiene concerns. City rangers have acknowledged that the cullings are personally difficult to carry out, and stress they are conducted only where population numbers require it.
The Saturday demonstration begins at Stadelhoferplatz in the early afternoon.
