In The Land Down Under, the skies are filled with the fluttering wings of various bird species.

However, a friendly act of kindness could cost Aussies a pretty penny.

Before tearing off a piece of bread to share with some pigeons, this act of generosity could slap innocent people with a fine that costs more than birdseed.

Western Australia and South Australia implemented hefty fines enough to ruffle anyone's feathers—up to $20,000 and $30,000, respectively.

'This is particularly the case when a complaint is made—quite often neighbours will take videos and photos of the number of pigeons and the person feeding them,' Sydney lawyer Avinash Singh stated.

Pigeons should be fed with proper items instead of human food products like bread. Image Credit: Pexels/Levent Simsek

While feeding birds might seem harmless, it could have consequences.

Pigeons, not native to Australia, could carry diseases transmissible to humans and other animals.

These diseases often include respiratory infections and parasites.

Feeding pigeons could also lead to overpopulation, as they could compete with native species for resources and imbalance local ecosystems.

Large flocks of pigeons could also be a public nuisance—creating noise, leaving droppings, damaging property, and generally making a mess in public.

Many local councils have decided to implement laws prohibiting pigeon feeding.

The legislation in South Australia aimed to protect communities from nuisances and preserve property values, which the presence of too many pigeons could negatively impact.

Talks about pigeon control hit the headlines in Adelaide last month after a pigeon culler armed with an air rifle caused a stir among locals.

The culler was reportedly targeting pigeons at a residential home near a busy playground where children were playing, leading to concerns and panic among the community.

This law underscored the complexities of managing wildlife in urban areas and the lengths authorities will go to for safekeeping public spaces.

While it could be one of Australia's stranger laws, it's a reminder that everyone should be responsible with their interactions with wildlife.

So, next time you're out for a picnic or a stroll in the park, it's best to admire our avian acquaintances from a distance.

If you're tempted to feed them, think of alternative ways to show your appreciation for nature and its wonders.

Key Takeaways

• Feeding pigeons may lead to hefty fines in Western Australia and South Australia due to legislation aimed at protecting communities and property values.
• Fines for feeding pigeons could be as high as $30,000 in South Australia and $20,000 in Western Australia.
• Feeding pigeons has been discouraged due to health risks, disruption of local ecosystems, public nuisance, and property damage.
• A pigeon culler from Adelaide highlighted the tension between wildlife management and public safety.

Have you ever been warned against feeding pigeons during your days out? Do you think these fines are fair, or do they ruffle your feathers? Share your stories and opinions in the comments below.

 

[Cheviegirl]

Best idea ever. They should fine people for reeding any birds or native animals. Bread given to Ducks can cause Angel Wing & then the birds can never fly again. You should never feed any of our Wildlife. Why do people do it? It does ALL of them harm. Lorikeets are fed bread & honey, it strips the fine hairs off their tongues then they cannot reach into flowers for the nectar so they too end up dying. People are just plain stupid they are killing our birds & Wildlife by feeding them.

 

[Rosi Gordon]

How does this go for people having homing pigeons, do they have to have a special permit or something to avoid this fine?

 

[Veggiepatch]

A fine of up to $30000 for feeding birds? FMD!

If I was a black African who commits a nasty home invasion, causing physical and psychological injury to the victims, I get off with a $500 fine, a six month sentence wholly suspended and 50 hours of community service.

Justice in this country has gone down the gurgler!

 

[Mindygirl12022]

Yes well how about instead of hitting on the Pigeons they focus on those blasted Miner Birds. They are a far worse threat to our real wildlife AND the pigeons.

 

[Ebby]

Yes well how about instead of hitting on the Pigeons they focus on those blasted Miner Birds. They are a far worse threat to our real wildlife AND the pigeons.

My sister had a pet minor bird lt was a great talker and could mimic my dads Yorkshire accent perfectly.They are not much to look at though.

 

[Jest]

THEY ARE THE DIRTIEST BIRD. INFESTED. YOU'RE A SCREW LOOSE IF YOU FEED BIRDS ON YOUR LAWN.

 

[Jest]

How does this go for people having homing pigeons, do they have to have a special permit or something to avoid this fine?

READ THE WORD HOMING THAT IS WHAT THEY DO. THEY DO NOT STOP OFF FOR A FEED.

 

[drambuie69]

Many years ago, whilst still in uniform, my partner and I got a call to the railway goods yard at Darling Harbour to help look for 2 males who were attempting to steal from the goods platforms. We were joined by the Railway Police Unit and began our search. Whilst walking through the sheds we kept hearing these 'thuds' like something being dropped from the roof onto the floors. When this 'item' nearly hit my partner of the head we saw it was a pigeon and it was dead. The Railway Cops told us that the 'exterminator' had been in the night before and spread this 'poison laced corn' along the internal roadway and the pigeons would come down and eat the corn, then fly up into the rafters of the sheds and after the poison did its job they would 'fall off their perch' so to speak. This happened every 4 months, when the pigeon population would rise dramatically and become a hazzard to the workers in the sheds. We stood still for a while and then noticed that as a pigeon hit the ground a couple or single rats would dart out and grab the pigeon and run off with it, so they would then get their fill of a 'fresh feed.' Then we saw a few feral cats run out and also grab a pigeon or rat and they would have a feed also. Apparantly the 'exterminator' would come back to the sheds on the Sunday afternoon and collect any of the carcasses on the floor of the sheds and dispose of them. This method was very effective and reduced the population of pigeons, rats and feral cats in one go. All three of these 'pests' carry various diseases and should be eradicated at every opportunity, they not only pose a threat to humans but more-so to our native species. As for the 'Indian Miner' birds, they should be shot on sight, not the 'Noisy Miners', they are ours. I remember reading that they had to do a 'cull of pigeons' especially at Trafalgar Square, where tourists would 'feed the pigeons' to a point where you couldn't sit on a bench seat and eat as the birds would just desend on you. Should be more 'controlling of imported species' to give our native animals a long term chance of survival. I'll say it now....'SHUT UP GREENIES', you don't help.

 

[bellbirdcats]

Topknot pigeons are native to Australia.

 

[Ebby]

THEY ARE THE DIRTIEST BIRD. INFESTED. YOU'RE A SCREW LOOSE IF YOU FEED BIRDS ON YOUR LAWN.

You can say that again but hers was in a cage

 

[Vinylted]

A fine of up to $30000 for feeding birds? FMD!

If I was a black African who commits a nasty home invasion, causing physical and psychological injury to the victims, I get off with a $500 fine, a six month sentence wholly suspended and 50 hours of community service.

Justice in this country has gone down the gurgler!

You could be more inclusive... "criminal" in lieu of a racist term, even if they are over represented in these types of crimes.

 

[Vinylted]

Yes well how about instead of hitting on the Pigeons they focus on those blasted Miner Birds. They are a far worse threat to our real wildlife AND the pigeons.

The Mynah birds have been around for over a 100 years or even more since being introduced from India by the Poms... Now well entrenched everywhere.

 

[Veggiepatch]

You could be more inclusive... "criminal" in lieu of a racist term, even if they are over represented in these types of crimes.

I will call a spade a spade.

Or is that racist as well?

A leopard never changes its spots. Black criminals will continue to be black criminals regardless.

When you have experienced a face to face confrontation with these Sudanese fake thugs, come back to me.

Like most two legged imports to this country over the last 50 years, they have brought the criminal element of their "homeland" with them.

I await your reply.

 

[Vinylted]

I will call a spade a spade.

Or is that racist as well?

A leopard never changes its spots. Black criminals will continue to be black criminals regardless.

When you have experienced a face to face confrontation with these Sudanese fake thugs, come back to me.

Like most two legged imports to this country over the last 50 years, they have brought the criminal element of their "homeland" with them.

I await your reply.

You are casting your net too narrowly, you excluded the Lebanese gangsters & the Islamic hoodlums dominating Melbourne's western suburbs, you neglect the bikie gangs, try wandering around Alice springs at night.. and they are not imported. Criminal seems to me to be an inclusive term, but you may have a better one....

 

[steveswr53]

Everybody sing

 

[Veggiepatch]

You are casting your net too narrowly, you excluded the Lebanese gangsters & the Islamic hoodlums dominating Melbourne's western suburbs, you neglect the bikie gangs, try wandering around Alice springs at night.. and they are not imported. Criminal seems to me to be an inclusive term, but you may have a better one....

They are all in the same boat. I have been a part of disrupting the Lebanese heroin trade in southern Sydney during the late 1980s and early 1990s. When the Lebbos discovered guns and knives, we retreated, leaving two great mates dead and myself, some tattoos which I didn't ask for. Courtesy of being set alight after being doused in petrol.

I sincerely hope the Israelis level the pox known as Lebanon.

 

[Vinylted]

They are all in the same boat. I have been a part of disrupting the Lebanese heroin trade in southern Sydney during the late 1980s and early 1990s. When the Lebbos discovered guns and knives, we retreated, leaving two great mates dead and myself, some tattoos which I didn't ask for. Courtesy of being set alight after being doused in petrol.

I sincerely hope the Israelis level the pox known as Lebanon.

Everybody sing

Well done, loved it!

 

[Soxylox]

I live in a small rural town and we never used to have pigeons around but in the last 12months they have started to become a nuisance. I've noticed there are less native birds hanging around than there used to be as well.

 

[BeautifulMousey]

I live in a small rural town and we never used to have pigeons around but in the last 12months they have started to become a nuisance. I've noticed there are less native birds hanging around than there used to be as well.

I've noticed we don't have sparrows around anymore. Did they gett eradicated also. You're all right about the two legged idiots that don't have feathers. They come out break into homes and attack the home owners. We never had these thugs that break into jewlert stores and smash them up and they do this in daytime when everyone can see what they are doing. Our boys are starting to join them some but our boys would never have thought about doing something so blatantly wild and not give a shit about the owners staff or anyone else that appears to get in there way. Maybe we could put some poison down for them. But once caught doing these things they should get deported back to where they came from. Arseholes.