August 18, 2025
NEW DELHI – Mr Bandish Sheth and his family have kept up with a daily routine for nearly three decades, despite leading busy lives in India’s commercial capital, Mumbai.
Every morning, they feed grains to pigeons at a roundabout after their visit to a local Jain temple.
“Not a day goes by that we don’t feed them,” said Mr Sheth, 45, a dealer of ready-made garment.
Followers of Jainism, a religion whose adherents are guided by the principle of compassion and non-violence, the Sheths see feeding strays as an integral part of their religious practices.
“We believe that we should not eat without feeding others,” he added.
But it is this act of “mercy feeding” pigeons, something also practised widely by followers of other religions, including Hinduism and Islam, that has increasingly become a source of tension in urban India.
It is pitting locals against each other and sowing discord, including on neighbourhood WhatsApp groups.
Fed on an easy supply of grains, the population of pigeons in Indian cities has jumped dramatically.
It is a phenomenon that has also been aided by how well these birds have adapted to building their nests in the many nooks and crannies of concrete jungles.
According to the 2023 State Of India’s Birds report, the population of rock pigeons, also known as common pigeons, in India has increased by more than 150 per cent since 2000 – the highest percentage increase of all bird species whose populations had gone up.
And along with this growth in several Indian cities has come a spike in hypersensitivity pneumonitis, a potentially fatal lung disease caused by the repetitive inhalation of antigens.
Doctors have linked the disease to pigeon exposure, particularly their droppings and feathers.
Concerned by this risk, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) launched a citywide crackdown in July against illegal pigeon feeding, even fining offenders.
Among the many feeding sites in the city that were shut is the Dadar Kabutarkhana, established in 1933, that the Sheths frequented daily.
Violence erupted here on Aug 6 after a group of protesters forcibly removed a tarpaulin sheet placed by the authorities over the feeding site, leading to clashes with the police.
The site has since been covered again and security reinforced. The BMC is now reportedly exploring the possibility of allowing pigeon feeding here for only two hours in the morning, while the Bombay High Court hears petitions on this matter.
Mr Sheth, who was not there at the protest and has not fed the pigeons at Dadar Kabutarkhana since the end of July, said the ban on feeding pigeons had left him in “great pain”.
“It is as if the soul inside has died,” he told The Straits Times, claiming that many pigeons are dying in his Dadar neighbourhood because of hunger.
“If we do not pass on our good values, if they are stopped abruptly, it will obviously hurt.”
Other city administrations are also trying various means to tackle these birds that haters have dubbed “rats from the sky”.
In December 2024, the Pune Municipal Corporation imposed a 500 rupee (S$7.30) fine on those feeding pigeons in public places.
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi is reportedly considering asking people not to feed pigeons as well.
Individuals have adopted many pigeon-busting tactics, too.
These range from netting their flat balconies to placing metal spikes on outdoor air-conditioner units that offer resting spots for these birds.
So acrimonious is the divide that pigeon haters are also known to photograph those who feed them and shame them in neighbourhood social media groups.
A bird-poop-stained statue of Indian freedom fighter M. Asaf Ali near one of Delhi’s popular pigeon feeding sites. PHOTO: THE STRAITS TIMES
Dr Lancelot Pinto, who has worked as a pulmonologist in Mumbai for more than 15 years, said he has noted an increase in the percentage of patients with hypersensitivity pneumonitis.
“And a significant proportion of them, when asked, will speak about a lot of pigeons being around where they live,” he told ST.
An ongoing study by him and his colleagues at the P.D. Hinduja Hospital has found that as many as 77 per cent of those with hypersensitivity pneumonitis, the most common form of interstitial lung disease in India, reported a “close exposure to pigeons”.
Dr Pinto welcomed the move to discourage pigeon feeding, adding that “nobody’s suggesting that we eradicate the pigeons”.
“We are just suggesting that let’s not do our best to kind of help them proliferate,” he said.
The birds’ acidic droppings have also been blamed for causing damage to old buildings, particularly heritage structures.
A jump in urban pigeon populations poses a biodiversity conservation challenge, too.
Carcasses of pigeons, including those from roadkills, provide a ready supply of meat to omnivorous or carnivorous birds in India such as crows and kites, whose numbers have also ballooned alongside that of pigeons.
This, in turn, limits the growth of smaller bird species in Indian cities, undermining the ecological diversity.
Urban birds that become dependent on human feeding may also stop consuming fruits, impacting plant germination and growth.
Birds have an important ecosystem role, acting as seed dispersers, pollinators and even pest control agents.
“It’s very clear that human activities are responsible for the increase in the population of pigeons,” said Mr Kishor Rithe, a conservationist and director of the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS).
“And mercy feeding is one of the main reasons why their population is increasing,” he told ST.
“The answer is simple – if you want to find a solution to this problem, then stop mercy feeding.”
The BNHS released a documentary earlier in 2025 on this issue, highlighting the health, environmental and civic risks that pigeon overpopulation poses.
With culling strongly opposed by the vast majority in India, raising awareness about this problem could be the only effective way to limit acts of mercy feeding, thereby naturally restraining the growth in pigeon numbers.
In Delhi, Mr Mohammed Sarwar feeds pigeons and other “helpless” animals such as crows and dogs at various public spots, around three times a week. The 52-year-old electric rickshaw driver said he is not aware of any health risks posed by the birds.
On Aug 13, he dropped around 500g of puffed rice for pigeons at a busy traffic crossing in the city but said he would stop doing so if the authorities ban mercy feeding.
“I will have to respect that. What choice do I have?” he said, acknowledging in the same breath that it would cause him pain.
“These are animals who cannot speak for themselves. If I don’t feed them and you don’t feed them, who will?”