Lahore’s pigeons are vanishing in plain sight

Areeba Rasheed

June 23, 2019

People urge wildlife dept to save them 

The number of wild pigeons in Lahore, which were once spotted hovering over buildings, is slowly and steadily declining.  

The birds frequently flock near Istanbul Chowk, Data Darbar, Mall Road, Jain Temple, and Shahi Qila, where many people feed them too.

"I love these birds, but I have noticed that their number is decreasing by the day," said a resident. "The wildlife department should do something about it."

Naeem Bhatti, who is the deputy director of the wildlife department, remarked that the birds have been disappearing because of fatal diseases. "One of the most common diseases that affect them is the Newcastle Disease," he said. The Newcastle disease is a contagious viral bird disease that affects many wild and domestic birds and it can even be transmitted to humans.

"To stop the spread of the disease, the birds can be given vaccines and antibiotics," he explained. "Administering them vaccines will protect them from lethal diseases."

More than 40% of bird species across the globe are in decline, according to the 2018 State of the World’s Birds. The report says that 1,469 bird species globally are threatened with extinction.

It identified agricultural expansion and intensification, deforestation, and hunting as the biggest threats to the population of birds. “The threats driving the extinction crisis are many and varied, but invariably of humanity’s making…and most species are impacted by multiple, interrelated threats,” it says.

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