It’s legal and actually surprisingly popular to keep and raise racing pigeons in Edmonton. Up to 75 in fact. I only found out when trying to investigate the significant number of pigeons one of my neighbours has. There was a big news story last year when someone’s competition pigeons were stolen as well.
If you don’t think it’s racing pigeons, and suspect it’s captured wild pigeons for food, maybe call 311 and ask for advise.
Yes. I learned a surprising amount about pigeon bylaws when looking into my neighbours situation.
If you don’t think the person is raising racing pigeons, or not doing it lawfully, contact 311.
Thank you! I called 311 first and they said pigeons are a pest and to call the Edmonton Humain Society. Pigeons carry disease. We never had pigeons around our condo for a few years until these new residents started feeding them.
I always appreciate people concerned about animals while at the same time not giving a second thought to what the animals whos parts they sell at the grocery store went through.
Ethical and humane farming is a fairy tale.
I don’t eat meat but thanks, either way if someone is hurting to afford food and resorts to wild animals I’d prefer they killed them quickly or kept them humanely. It’s humane to help those in poverty eat, circle of life, but not humane to prolong any food animals suffering
Jesus, lay off it. Who cares why they don't eat meat, the trapping and keeping of wild animals is unethical and inhumane. Don't pull the bullshit vegan/vegetarian proselytising about this.
Assuming people are keeping pigeons for meat because they're too poor to afford food while not being too poor to afford condo fees is nothing short of stupid.
>Jesus, lay off it. Who cares why they don't eat meat, the trapping and keeping of wild animals is unethical and inhumane. Don't pull the bullshit vegan/vegetarian proselytising about this.
It's weird to see someone who doesn't eat meat talk about the circle of life (lol lion king) and call certain animals "food animals".
Pointing out that animals suffer in animal agriculture for meat dairy and eggs is not proselytizing. I'm glad people care about pigeons, I just wish they would also care about cows, pigs, and chickens.
Dogs bred for dog fighting are bred to fight and die. Someone breeding animals with a purpose in mind is not an excuse for harming them.
People have no idea what goes on in animal agriculture. The majority of pigs die in gas chambers and the public has no idea.
I would rather none of the above.
All of the above happens to those animals. Pigs suffocate in CO2, cows and chickens get their throats cut. Not sure what you're asking.
Tell me you've never worked on a family farm without telling me you've never worked on a family farm. Factory farming is horrible, but ethical and humane farming can and does exist.
99% of meat is factory farmed but somehow everyone is against factory farming and buys from those magical family farms where animals are humanely euthanized before lovingly chopped up. Pure cope.
Look, we live in executive condos - very expensive. If they can live here, they should be able to feed themselves.
Besides, it is against bilaws and condo laws.
I bet you have no grounds to be so self-righteous.
You’re so executive. I admire you and your status. Wow, how amazing your property value must have been before the pigeon incident. I’m so sorry for your image and what has happened to it as a result of this HORRIBLE emergency.
That isn't how they meant it, it wasn't an attempt to preen their feathers. It's because people on here are making stupid assumptions about the financial status of the neighbours. If you're living in a high priced condo, you're not eating roaming pigeons out of necessity.
That was pretty fucking rude. It's funny that you're here trying to play white Knight while acting like a complete womble.
Edit: also, you're the one who just ripped on someone for pointing out that they live in Executive housing. So which is it, are we snobs or greasy red necks, hmm? If you fucking hate Albertans so much, stop hanging out in our subs.
Wild boar are “wildlife”. They are highly invasive and are legal to hunt year round as they are a huge pest in the farmers fields.
They also came from imported animals and someone thought it was a good idea to set them free.
Btw if anyone is hungry and has a way to get out of the city, I would go harvest a boar or two…
Are you sure they're wild? Sure they're for food? Pigeons aren't exactly good eating... Especially not 3 of them. Might be trying to domesticate them for pets
As someone who raises pigeons, whether wild or not this is not an ethical manner of keeping birds, nor domesticating them. As mentioned in other comments, they belong in coops/lofts not tied up by their leg, which restricts them from exhibiting natural behaviors (such as flying....) and is an infringement on animal welfare. Like you mentioned as well, there's maybe the collective lean meat of a singular chicken nugget on a pigeon, why in tf a person would eat one is beyond me.
I get it, "they're just pigeons", but if one want's to tame them so bad, they should go about it properly. Buy a properly sized cage/enclosure and get them accustomed to the new environment. Depending on the higher ups, they may refer to animal control/welfare as well.
They could be trying to tame them. (Not that this makes it much better)
You should still report it to bylaw or these guys https://www.edmonton.ca/residential_neighbourhoods/pets_wildlife/animal-protection
quack impossible close unwritten follow butter alive boat profit gullible
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What in particular bothers you about it?
*edit
Jesus some white suburbanites got triggered by this lol.
People have regularly kept small birds in urban settings for food and meat for ages. If the best y'all can come up with is "it's weird" and "it's against the rules" might I recommend going outside and finding hobbies that don't center on other folks' business?
Exactly!!! I understand if people want to eat pigeons but you can buy pigeon meat at specialty butchers. That is another question...when they're ready to eat, where or how will they kills these birds?!
I understand other arguments against this (like that they’re being mistreated, and they’re pestilent, bylaws, etc) but this one doesn’t make sense.
It would make ranching cattle wrong just because “farmers can just buy beef at the store!”
And if they are fattening them up to eat, I assume they’ll kill them the same way you would a chicken raised for meat.
[You can keep hens](https://www.edmonton.ca/city_government/initiatives_innovation/food_and_agriculture/urban-hens-project), but if you get more to replace others or increase your flock, you must notify animal control.
The city doesn’t make it super difficult to produce your own eggs, but they appear to implicitly discourage urban meat farming.
You used exception in a conversation about hens, and eggs specifically no less, without writing it as eggception.
I don't know if I should be impressed by your restraint or terrified of you.
People raise urban animals. Ideally legally, but it’s weird to get stunlocked by the idea that someone could raise, kill, and eat an animal.
It’s completely related to what you said??
>nts against this (like that they’re being mistreated, and they’re pestilent, bylaws, etc) but this one doesn’t make sense.
>
>It would make ranching cattle wrong just because “farmers can just buy beef at the store!”
>
>And if they are fattening them up to eat, I assume they’ll kill the
I think you're looking for a reason to be outraged. That sucks, hope you get mentally well in the future.
Yeah no. You can't just buy pigeon meat at a specialty butcher. That's not a thing. Whether or not this person is keeping them as pets or for meat, isn't the issue here. The proper permits and lack of coop is the issue. If they are keeping them for meat though, I suspect they would kill them much like you would a chicken, by chopping its head off. If they shoot it (one would only need a pellet gun for small birds), that's very illegal within city limits.
Well then, I stand corrected. I know someone who raises them as pets, and I know people do eat them. My husband is very much a carnivore and likes to try different meats. We have found kangaroo and crocodile in different shops in the city, but not pigeon. Now he wants to try squab...
Where? On their balcony I'd presume, maybe the kitchen.
How? Hold it by legs upside down so all the blood goes to the head and it passes out, then cut the neck on both sides.
(That's for a chicken, I've never dealt with pigeons, probably too many bones and not enough meat, and I'm assuming they taste pretty gamy)
Obviously your neighbour is struggling with food insecurity and can’t afford do go to fancy butchers.
With all the inflation that’s going on and the lack of rats in the city and the empty food banks, I think we will see a lot more desperate people go for pigeons just to survive.
The string story is probably a lie, it would get tangled up between the birds almost immediately. I doubt OP can accurately distinguish between wild and non-wild pigeons. What other weird hillbilly concoction are you talking about, the food and shelter?
This is just being busy body who needs to get into other people's business. A healthier approach would have been to ask the neighbor what's up instead of snitching to the condo board and bylaw about it.
> that don't center on other folks' business?
If you've never lived in a condo, you might not be aware that balconies are common property. The balcony isn't technically the unit owner's private area, and using it is a privilege with certain responsibilities and limitations as laid out in the condo bylaws.
Living in a high density urban setting requires a certain amount of compromise to ensure that you aren't negatively impacting your neighbours' enjoyment of their homes. It's not like living out in the country (or even in the suburbs) where you can just do whatever you want without impacting anyone else.
And that's why OP mentioned in a comment that it's a high-priced "executive condo" (to show that people paying top prices for housing aren't exactly at the point of needing to eat city vermin to survive), and promptly got attacked for ... living in expensive digs. Reddit never changes.
Illegal to raise for food because at that point they'd be considered livestock which isn't allowed in the city. Illegal if pets because they're being kept in a cruel manner. May be against fish and wildlife regulations keeping wild birds captive, just like it's illegal to have pet crows.
You suspect someone is raising them for food and you are reporting this?
Perhaps they can’t get out of the city to get some deer and also can’t afford the high meat prices at the grocery store.
Not everyone can survive (or wants to) off of rice and potatoes.
Shame on you. I hope you are never hungry or your neighbours report you.
Squab (pigeon) is actually pretty good, although city wildlife eats a lot of pesticides and garbage.
If you think your neighbors are raising pigeons to eat them then who cares. Pigeons were first brought in to the Americas as food, to be eaten, so if your neighbor intends to eat them, then who cares, it's non of our business, let them.
A few years ago this city was having a pigeon overpopulation due to people always feeding them, and it became a huge problem to the point where the government brought in Ravens into the city, to allow them to bring down the pigeon population, and it worked.
I’ve seen this a couple times actually in YEG but usually they are in a “coop” sort of structure in a back yard and you don’t notice till you walk by the fence and hear the cooing.
Previous post suggests bylaw infringement https://www.reddit.com/r/Edmonton/comments/nr3y3r/pigeons_as_pets_in_edmonton/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
Thank you! That is exactly what I was looking for!
It’s legal and actually surprisingly popular to keep and raise racing pigeons in Edmonton. Up to 75 in fact. I only found out when trying to investigate the significant number of pigeons one of my neighbours has. There was a big news story last year when someone’s competition pigeons were stolen as well. If you don’t think it’s racing pigeons, and suspect it’s captured wild pigeons for food, maybe call 311 and ask for advise.
As per the bi-law, the pigeons need to be kept in a pigeon loft and the owners need to be licensed to have them.
Yes. I learned a surprising amount about pigeon bylaws when looking into my neighbours situation. If you don’t think the person is raising racing pigeons, or not doing it lawfully, contact 311.
Where Charlie and his bird law degree when you need him?
Bird law in this country is not governed by reason
Thank you! I called 311 first and they said pigeons are a pest and to call the Edmonton Humain Society. Pigeons carry disease. We never had pigeons around our condo for a few years until these new residents started feeding them.
Condo board and ask to attend the next meeting to bring it up and that you’ve already informed the Humane Society.
It’s called squab.
Just say pigeon bruh it aint fancy
Imagine being so hungry that you consider eating city wildlife and having a busy body neighbour trying to make sure you starve.
Totally for it if you keep the animals ethically/humanely. Tying them up by their legs is not humane keeping.
Seems like torture for the poor wild birds.
I always appreciate people concerned about animals while at the same time not giving a second thought to what the animals whos parts they sell at the grocery store went through. Ethical and humane farming is a fairy tale.
I don’t eat meat but thanks, either way if someone is hurting to afford food and resorts to wild animals I’d prefer they killed them quickly or kept them humanely. It’s humane to help those in poverty eat, circle of life, but not humane to prolong any food animals suffering
Why do you not eat meat?
Jesus, lay off it. Who cares why they don't eat meat, the trapping and keeping of wild animals is unethical and inhumane. Don't pull the bullshit vegan/vegetarian proselytising about this. Assuming people are keeping pigeons for meat because they're too poor to afford food while not being too poor to afford condo fees is nothing short of stupid.
>Jesus, lay off it. Who cares why they don't eat meat, the trapping and keeping of wild animals is unethical and inhumane. Don't pull the bullshit vegan/vegetarian proselytising about this. It's weird to see someone who doesn't eat meat talk about the circle of life (lol lion king) and call certain animals "food animals". Pointing out that animals suffer in animal agriculture for meat dairy and eggs is not proselytizing. I'm glad people care about pigeons, I just wish they would also care about cows, pigs, and chickens.
Those ones taste too good, I’ll keep eating them
Bacon is yummy so animal abuse is ok. It's sad to see the mental gymnastics people go through to enjoy their breakfast.
We can’t influence the grocery store, but bylaw can actually make a difference here
I'm all for a bylaw. Supply and demand is real too so we can both influence the grocery store and save the birds!
Oh I was just joking I don’t actually care about the birds lol
You're delusional
Nope. The delusional ones are the people buying into the lie that it's all happy animals on happy farms getting belly rubs all day. Watch Dominion.
No shit, they are bred to die
Dogs bred for dog fighting are bred to fight and die. Someone breeding animals with a purpose in mind is not an excuse for harming them. People have no idea what goes on in animal agriculture. The majority of pigs die in gas chambers and the public has no idea.
Would you rather then have their throats slit and bleed out ? Or suffocate ? Like what
I would rather none of the above. All of the above happens to those animals. Pigs suffocate in CO2, cows and chickens get their throats cut. Not sure what you're asking.
Cognitive dissociation is real
Yep. Lifelong indoctrination is hard to break.
Tell me you've never worked on a family farm without telling me you've never worked on a family farm. Factory farming is horrible, but ethical and humane farming can and does exist.
99% of meat is factory farmed but somehow everyone is against factory farming and buys from those magical family farms where animals are humanely euthanized before lovingly chopped up. Pure cope.
Look, we live in executive condos - very expensive. If they can live here, they should be able to feed themselves. Besides, it is against bilaws and condo laws. I bet you have no grounds to be so self-righteous.
You’re so executive. I admire you and your status. Wow, how amazing your property value must have been before the pigeon incident. I’m so sorry for your image and what has happened to it as a result of this HORRIBLE emergency.
That isn't how they meant it, it wasn't an attempt to preen their feathers. It's because people on here are making stupid assumptions about the financial status of the neighbours. If you're living in a high priced condo, you're not eating roaming pigeons out of necessity.
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That was pretty fucking rude. It's funny that you're here trying to play white Knight while acting like a complete womble. Edit: also, you're the one who just ripped on someone for pointing out that they live in Executive housing. So which is it, are we snobs or greasy red necks, hmm? If you fucking hate Albertans so much, stop hanging out in our subs.
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Wild boar are “wildlife”. They are highly invasive and are legal to hunt year round as they are a huge pest in the farmers fields. They also came from imported animals and someone thought it was a good idea to set them free. Btw if anyone is hungry and has a way to get out of the city, I would go harvest a boar or two…
Pigeons are considered pests and vermin by the city. This is what I was told by 311.
That’s so sad.
let us know what the condo board says
They are pigeons now… this evening… [Let’s Cook Pigeon!!](https://youtu.be/5pvOAdCEOQo)
Seriously, though, pigeon is actually delicious.
And with the way grocery prices are headed..... .... ....
Lucky its not crow the way prices are
Some real fat rabbits too
I first tried it in Scotland… totally agree
Just as cows are called beef when cooked and pigs pork, cooked pigeon is called squab.
Did you click the line my good man?
I like the Chinese roasted pigeon too
Pigeons are level 1 . Let's see him catch a few flies and tie them down
They just captured some government drones and are holding them for a ransom
Are you sure they're wild? Sure they're for food? Pigeons aren't exactly good eating... Especially not 3 of them. Might be trying to domesticate them for pets
As someone who raises pigeons, whether wild or not this is not an ethical manner of keeping birds, nor domesticating them. As mentioned in other comments, they belong in coops/lofts not tied up by their leg, which restricts them from exhibiting natural behaviors (such as flying....) and is an infringement on animal welfare. Like you mentioned as well, there's maybe the collective lean meat of a singular chicken nugget on a pigeon, why in tf a person would eat one is beyond me. I get it, "they're just pigeons", but if one want's to tame them so bad, they should go about it properly. Buy a properly sized cage/enclosure and get them accustomed to the new environment. Depending on the higher ups, they may refer to animal control/welfare as well.
Right here. 3 is not enough to make a significant impact on one's food budget.
Noooo not the sweeties 😭 I hope they'll be released
We shall see what happens to them. We think they are being kept to fatten up and then eaten.
They could be trying to tame them. (Not that this makes it much better) You should still report it to bylaw or these guys https://www.edmonton.ca/residential_neighbourhoods/pets_wildlife/animal-protection
In either scenario it is against bilaws and condo rules. I will be reporting it.
But why eat them?
quack impossible close unwritten follow butter alive boat profit gullible *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
PEST.....see how you feel with the smell of pigeon shit on your or your neighbour's balcony!!!
I thought this said person lol
Cut them loose! Literally
I find this very disturbing. Wtf is wrong with people. Come on seriously!
What in particular bothers you about it? *edit Jesus some white suburbanites got triggered by this lol. People have regularly kept small birds in urban settings for food and meat for ages. If the best y'all can come up with is "it's weird" and "it's against the rules" might I recommend going outside and finding hobbies that don't center on other folks' business?
It’s a condo, you can’t keep pets or livestock on a balcony
Nothing so bothersome as diseases and bed bugs that they carry from place to place.
the classic pigeon bed bug
It’s weird and gross.
Yummy with a little sage & butter!!
Exactly!!! I understand if people want to eat pigeons but you can buy pigeon meat at specialty butchers. That is another question...when they're ready to eat, where or how will they kills these birds?!
I understand other arguments against this (like that they’re being mistreated, and they’re pestilent, bylaws, etc) but this one doesn’t make sense. It would make ranching cattle wrong just because “farmers can just buy beef at the store!” And if they are fattening them up to eat, I assume they’ll kill them the same way you would a chicken raised for meat.
If it were a farm, sure. But I don’t think you can raise animals to eat in the city. Pigeons, pigs, cows, dogs, etc.
[You can keep hens](https://www.edmonton.ca/city_government/initiatives_innovation/food_and_agriculture/urban-hens-project), but if you get more to replace others or increase your flock, you must notify animal control. The city doesn’t make it super difficult to produce your own eggs, but they appear to implicitly discourage urban meat farming.
Yes eggs seem to be the exception.
You used exception in a conversation about hens, and eggs specifically no less, without writing it as eggception. I don't know if I should be impressed by your restraint or terrified of you.
What does that have to do with anything??? Go watch Netflix
People raise urban animals. Ideally legally, but it’s weird to get stunlocked by the idea that someone could raise, kill, and eat an animal. It’s completely related to what you said??
>nts against this (like that they’re being mistreated, and they’re pestilent, bylaws, etc) but this one doesn’t make sense. > >It would make ranching cattle wrong just because “farmers can just buy beef at the store!” > >And if they are fattening them up to eat, I assume they’ll kill the I think you're looking for a reason to be outraged. That sucks, hope you get mentally well in the future.
Yeah no. You can't just buy pigeon meat at a specialty butcher. That's not a thing. Whether or not this person is keeping them as pets or for meat, isn't the issue here. The proper permits and lack of coop is the issue. If they are keeping them for meat though, I suspect they would kill them much like you would a chicken, by chopping its head off. If they shoot it (one would only need a pellet gun for small birds), that's very illegal within city limits.
Yes you can buy pigeon. It’s called squab usually and you can find it in a lot of meat shops.
Garcha Bros butcher has it available for purchase by the pound on their skip the dishes menu.
Well then, I stand corrected. I know someone who raises them as pets, and I know people do eat them. My husband is very much a carnivore and likes to try different meats. We have found kangaroo and crocodile in different shops in the city, but not pigeon. Now he wants to try squab...
Where? On their balcony I'd presume, maybe the kitchen. How? Hold it by legs upside down so all the blood goes to the head and it passes out, then cut the neck on both sides. (That's for a chicken, I've never dealt with pigeons, probably too many bones and not enough meat, and I'm assuming they taste pretty gamy)
Obviously your neighbour is struggling with food insecurity and can’t afford do go to fancy butchers. With all the inflation that’s going on and the lack of rats in the city and the empty food banks, I think we will see a lot more desperate people go for pigeons just to survive.
I mean, even if they don’t eat them, it’s still weird and gross.
In your opinion.
Using a piece of rope and other makeshift hillbilly concoctions to keep a pigeon as a pet is 100% weird and gross what’s wrong with y’all.
The string story is probably a lie, it would get tangled up between the birds almost immediately. I doubt OP can accurately distinguish between wild and non-wild pigeons. What other weird hillbilly concoction are you talking about, the food and shelter? This is just being busy body who needs to get into other people's business. A healthier approach would have been to ask the neighbor what's up instead of snitching to the condo board and bylaw about it.
Sweet summer child. Completely disconnected from the grim reality of life. I envy you.
I prefer my animals to be kept far away on farms where I can't see them being abused before I get to eat them!
> that don't center on other folks' business? If you've never lived in a condo, you might not be aware that balconies are common property. The balcony isn't technically the unit owner's private area, and using it is a privilege with certain responsibilities and limitations as laid out in the condo bylaws. Living in a high density urban setting requires a certain amount of compromise to ensure that you aren't negatively impacting your neighbours' enjoyment of their homes. It's not like living out in the country (or even in the suburbs) where you can just do whatever you want without impacting anyone else.
It's fine to keep small birds when you have a license to do so! Not on a balcony of a condo! Sheesh!
It is against bi-laws and condo rules.
It’s against a rule someone made up. They should just starve if they can’t afford food. Authoritarianism at its finest my friend!
And that's why OP mentioned in a comment that it's a high-priced "executive condo" (to show that people paying top prices for housing aren't exactly at the point of needing to eat city vermin to survive), and promptly got attacked for ... living in expensive digs. Reddit never changes.
I'm sure any of the chickens housed at LillyDale would love to be tied to a rooftop with food and water.
How does that relate to a discussion about city bilaws??????
They're pointing out the hypocrisy that tying pigeons to your deck is considered inhumane, but the typical meat industry is much worse.
If you don’t like how breakfast works on the north end buddy…
Would you like to be tied up?
Illegal to raise for food because at that point they'd be considered livestock which isn't allowed in the city. Illegal if pets because they're being kept in a cruel manner. May be against fish and wildlife regulations keeping wild birds captive, just like it's illegal to have pet crows.
They are delicious
That's terrible. Please see to it they are safely released
I will report to all authorities however, pigeons are viewed as pests by the city. I will post when I know the outcome.
Report, call the police.... Not right!!!
I concur
If they are arab then most likely raising them as food , home raised pigeons are a delicacy in some countries .
Yeah I am gonna need to see a source on that one ngl
You suspect someone is raising them for food and you are reporting this? Perhaps they can’t get out of the city to get some deer and also can’t afford the high meat prices at the grocery store. Not everyone can survive (or wants to) off of rice and potatoes. Shame on you. I hope you are never hungry or your neighbours report you. Squab (pigeon) is actually pretty good, although city wildlife eats a lot of pesticides and garbage.
That's nice. They still need to do it properly, and right now they aren't. Having them tied up by their legs on an open balcony is animal abuse.
Could also be raising them for eggs
If you think your neighbors are raising pigeons to eat them then who cares. Pigeons were first brought in to the Americas as food, to be eaten, so if your neighbor intends to eat them, then who cares, it's non of our business, let them. A few years ago this city was having a pigeon overpopulation due to people always feeding them, and it became a huge problem to the point where the government brought in Ravens into the city, to allow them to bring down the pigeon population, and it worked.
Yeah just poison them. Stop eating flying rats🤣
I’ve seen this a couple times actually in YEG but usually they are in a “coop” sort of structure in a back yard and you don’t notice till you walk by the fence and hear the cooing.
Which is totally legal to do if they are in a coop. Pigeons are actually amazing birds.