Dried pigeon droppings can release cryptococcus and histoplasma fungi, both capable of causing serious infections.
Published Oct 20, 2025 | 7:00 AM ⚊ Updated Oct 20, 2025 | 7:00 AM
Representational image. Credit: iStock
Synopsis: PETA India’s campaign featuring pigeon masks sparked debate over Mumbai’s pigeon feeding ban, citing minimal health risks. However, medical experts highlight severe lung diseases like hypersensitivity pneumonitis from pigeon droppings, with Indian studies confirming high antigen exposure. Doctors urge precautions like avoiding feeding and installing nets to prevent irreversible lung damage, emphasizing public health over animal welfare.
A social media campaign by PETA India featuring people in giant pigeon masks has ignited a fierce debate over urban wildlife management, pitting animal welfare concerns against mounting medical evidence of serious health risks posed by the ubiquitous city birds.
The row erupted after Maharashtra’s government declared pigeons “dangerous” and imposed a blanket ban on feeding them across Mumbai, citing public health concerns.
PETA India responded with a provocative video showing Mumbaikars going about their daily routines while wearing oversized pigeon masks, accompanied by the caption: “Mumbai’s skies wouldn’t be the same without pigeons. With feeding bans, these gentle birds face starvation.”
The animal rights organisation doubled down on its position by citing data from an RTI response showing that only 0.3 percent of respiratory illness cases in Mumbai’s three largest civic hospitals in 2024 were linked to pigeon exposure. PETA India also referenced international research claiming that disease transmission risk from pigeons to humans remains “very low” and noted that pigeons are naturally resistant to bird flu.
“Designating specific feeding times and hubs at kabutarkhanas, ensuring regular cleaning and sanitation at these sites, and installing multilingual messages educating the public on proper feeding practices and the minimal health risks posed by pigeons,” PETA India proposed as practical alternatives to outright feeding bans.
🕊️ Mumbai’s skies wouldn’t be the same without pigeons.
With feeding bans, these gentle birds face starvation. 💔
Human Mumbaikars turned into “pigeons” to remind everyone pigeons belong here too.👉 Join us in urging Hon’ble CM @Dev_Fadnavis to stop starving pigeons with… pic.twitter.com/x7vCrOurmP
— PETA India (@PetaIndia) October 10, 2025
However, the medical community has responded with alarm, pointing to a growing body of Indian research documenting serious health consequences from pigeon exposure.
Hyderabad District Medical Health Officer Venkat Jummidi said that unchecked pigeon populations in crowded areas contribute to the spread of zoonotic infections. He stated that pigeon droppings can cause bronchitis, respiratory illness, and hypersensitivity lung diseases, with infectious agents in droppings and feathers—including fungi, bacteria, and parasites—contributing to histoplasmosis, cryptococcosis, psittacosis, and allergic inflammation.
The DMHO specifically warned that children, elderly persons, and immunocompromised patients face the greatest risk, advising citizens to avoid direct contact with pigeons, refrain from feeding them, and install window mesh to prevent indoor nesting.
While the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation previously banned pigeon feeding in public gardens and parks such as Indira Park and KBR Park, enforcement remains limited.
Feeding continues at hotspots like Charminar, Nampally Metro Station, and Musallam Jung Bridge, where pigeons gather in large numbers every morning alongside locations like KBR Park, Tank Bund, and Begumpet.
The human cost of pigeon exposure has been dramatised through individual stories shared on social media. Cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle recently posted about witnessing people feeding “a whole army of pigeons” in Delhi, lamenting that doctors have been “shouting from the rooftops about the dangers of inhaling pigeon droppings and the severe lung disease it could lead to.”
In a heartbreaking reply, a military veteran shared his personal tragedy: “I lost my wife to ILD, a disease inadvertently picked up from pigeons nesting near our window AC (unknown to us).”
I have been giving my own example. I lost my wife to ILD, a disease inadvertently picked up from pigeons nesting near our window AC (unknown to us). https://t.co/ga4Gjfftl4
— Sandeep Thapar🇮🇳 (@sandythapar) October 12, 2025
Dr Rajeev, a pulmonologist from Hyderabad, paints a vivid picture of the medical reality behind these warnings. “When people toss grains to pigeons in our cities, they think they’re feeding peace,” he says. “But behind that gentle flutter of wings, I see a very different picture—one filled with breathlessness, oxygen cylinders, and scarred lungs.”
He recalls a retired banker from Hyderabad who fed pigeons on his balcony every morning. What began as a mild cough progressed within a year to debilitating breathlessness. Lung scans revealed the unmistakable damage pattern of hypersensitivity pneumonitis, commonly known as Pigeon Breeder’s Lung, where the immune system attacks lung tissue while mistaking pigeon proteins for invaders.
“Every month, I see new cases—teachers, homemakers, senior citizens, people living in apartments with a balcony full of droppings,” Dr Rajeev explains.
“They come thinking it’s asthma or a lingering viral cough. But what’s really happening is that their lungs are inflamed by years of breathing invisible dust—a toxic mix of feather debris, fungal spores, and microscopic proteins.”
Scientific evidence from India provides compelling support for these medical concerns. A peer-reviewed study published in Lung India’s December 2024 issue by the Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute in New Delhi measured pigeon protein concentrations in household dust of patients with bird-exposure-related hypersensitivity pneumonitis.
The study examined 18 patients from Delhi and Haryana, 78 percent of whom were women with an average exposure time of seven years. All dust samples contained pigeon-dropping proteins with a mean concentration of 17.6 µg/mg, while pigeon feather proteins were present in half the households at 5.6 µg/mg. Significantly, 60 percent of patients showed high pigeon-specific IgG antibodies, confirming immune sensitisation to pigeon antigens.
Patients presented with breathlessness and cough, and imaging revealed ground-glass opacities and nodules consistent with hypersensitivity pneumonitis pathology. The study concluded that household exposure to pigeon antigens represents a major non-occupational cause of lung inflammation and fibrosis in India.
Dr Rajeev describes the disease’s progression with sobering detail. “At first, they just feel tired or slightly short of breath. Then one day, climbing stairs feels like climbing Everest. Eventually, even speaking a full sentence becomes a struggle. The lungs stiffen—like a sponge soaked in cement. By the time they reach us, the scarring is often irreversible.”
He stressed that the suffering is entirely preventable. “If exposure stops early, the lungs can heal within weeks. But people keep feeding pigeons, unaware they’re harming themselves. Compassion shouldn’t come at the cost of lung health.”
The health risks extend beyond respiratory issues. Dried pigeon droppings can release cryptococcus and histoplasma fungi, both capable of causing serious infections. Dr Rajeev notes he has seen immunocompromised patients develop meningitis from exposure, while bacterial diseases like psittacosis and salmonella, along with parasites like mites and ticks that travel with nests, create what he calls “a cocktail of health risks.”
In India’s crowded, humid cities, the problem multiplies. “Damp walls, water tanks, and temple courtyards are perfect breeding grounds for fungi. When people sweep or clean without protection, the dust becomes airborne. What’s tragic is that we could avoid it all with simple precautions,” Dr Rajeev warns.
Adding fuel to the controversy, some social media users have raised questions about pigeons’ ecological impact.
One X user named Aravind argued that pigeons are a “foreign invasive species introduced to India by Arabs and Portuguese in the medieval times,” claiming they reduce populations of native birds like sparrows and mynas that help control pests affecting agriculture and mosquito populations.
Pigeons are not one of us.
They are a foreign bird species introduced to India by Arabs and Portuguese in the medieval times. And increased in population by the Mughals for ‘Kabootarbazi’, their elite cruel sports, and imperial messaging.
Further, Pigeons transmit diseases… pic.twitter.com/SBL9kiIK3M
— Aravind (@aravind) October 18, 2025
This perspective has drawn criticism for potentially oversimplifying complex ecological relationships, though it reflects growing frustration among some urban residents dealing with large pigeon populations.
Dr Rajeev’s medical advice remains straightforward: “Stop feeding pigeons. Install bird nets, keep your balconies clean, and always wet droppings before cleaning. Wear a mask—it’s not paranoia, it’s protection. A few minutes of care can save you from a lifetime of gasping for air.”
He adds with evident emotion: “I understand the sentiment behind feeding birds—it feels like kindness. But I’ve seen too many kind-hearted people chained to oxygen cylinders. Sometimes, real compassion means keeping a little distance.”
(Edited by Amit Vasudev)
