Feeding pigeons illegal in downtown La Crosse?

City council battling the birds this week

Pigeon control will be a focus of the La Crosse city council this week.

The council will consider new proposed pigeon regulations that could lead to, among other things, fines for feeding pigeons.

It’s part of a larger effort supported by the Downtown Mainstreet business group.

Board president Wayne Oliver says controlling pigeons is key downtown.

“It’s a tourist destination,” Oliver said. “It’s a destination for people to come stay and live. 

“How do I say it any nicer? Pigeon crap’s not something everyone wants around.’

Oliver’s group spends big money every month feeding pigeons food laced with birth control in order to help limit their numbers. Under the new proposed rules, however, that practice would be illegal.

“We think it’s pretty effective,” Oliver said of the birth-control food. “It really is a three-legged stool. You still have to control habitat and other food sources, as well.”

And that’s what the new rules seek to do, though Oliver thinks some of them will have to be changed.  

“You get rid of places where they can nest and roost, and it makes it a lot easier to get rid of them other ways,” Oliver said.

And the new rules would put the force of the city’s inspection department behind making sure that more property owners limit those places.