Pigeons in Charlottetown may have been poisoned, says Vet College

An unusually high number of sick pigeons are coming in to the Atlantic Veterinary College in Charlottetown, and technicians believe they've likely been poisoned.

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The wildlife service at the AVC usually sees three to five pigeons per year, but over the last two weeks it has received 13.

If it's actually killing a lot of pigeons I'd rather not see it being used at all. Fiep de Bie, AVC

"They were behaving erratically," said wildlife technician Fiep de Bie."Some were very weak, some were having seizures and convulsions. And they were basically very sick."

Thesick pigeons were exhibiting symptoms familiar to the staff, who suspect the birds may have ingested a substance used to control pigeon populations.

"We think it's called Avitrol. That's what we suspect. It's something that we've seen before. The testing is still being done," de Bie said.

The AVC is performing necropsies on three pigeons that have died. Samples from the birds will be sent to a toxicology lab at the University of Guelph, and results are expected in a couple of weeks.

"In most of the cases we have found corn, cracked corn or whole grains of corn which is one of the most common presentations of Avitrol poisoning," said Dr. Maria Forzan. "The Avitrol, the poison, is actually mixed in with the corn and that's how it's sold."

Flock control

Avitrol is described by its manufacturer as a flock deterrent, and by Health Canada as a "repellent used for the control of feral pigeons."

The pigeons who eat it are supposed to act oddly and scare away the rest of the birds.

"They're not supposed to die from it, they're just supposed to show abnormal signs, abnormal behaviour so it scares the other pigeons away," Forzan explained.

"But sometimes when they eat too much, or when the concentration is too high or the pigeons are too susceptible, they actually get seizures and die from it."

Charlottetown doesn't do pigeon control

Who might have administered anypoison to pigeons is not clear.The City of Charlottetown said it does not carry out pigeon control.

Only government agencies and pest control operators are allowed to use, or supervise the use of, Avitrol on P.E.I., the province told CBC in an email Monday.

"People can use it, I would just like to see it used in a proper way," said de Bie. "And if it's actually killing a lot of pigeons I'd rather not see it being used at all."

The sick birds were found near King's Square, Kent Street, Prince Street, University Avenue in front of the Confederation Court Mall, the Polyclinic parking lot, Victoria Row and the corner of Haviland and Grafton Streets.

Last year, the city of Halifax banned the use of Avitrol on municipal property.

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