# How dangerous would it be to catch and cook and eat a city pigeon? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 5, 2008, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-would-it-be-to-catch-and-cook-and-eat-a-city-pigeon/475918 "2008-12-05T21:23:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_Wikipedia_Cites)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-would-it-be-to-catch-and-cook-and-eat-a-city-pigeon/475918/1 "2008-12-05T21:23:44Z")
How dangerous would it be to catch and cook and eat a city pigeon? Supposing all the bums begging for spare change in a big city decided to catch one of the city ‘winged rat’ pigeons and kill it, dress it, and cook it. Assuming it was cooked thoroughly, what would happen to the human who eats it? Would it just be bad quality poultry, or extremely foul because of what the pigeons eat, or worse, make you extremely ill? I know the french eat pigeon but I’ve been told those are farm raised. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-would-it-be-to-catch-and-cook-and-eat-a-city-pigeon/475918/2 "2008-12-05T21:34:55Z")
A diseased bird is a diseased bird… but assuming the pigeon was healthy before it was killed I don’t think it would be particularly dangerous to consume if cooked appropriated. Most pigeons I know eat trash or are fed bread by humans. I doubt it would be a very satisfying meal given that once the feathers are gone there isn’t all that much meat… but it would be better than eating garbage I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-would-it-be-to-catch-and-cook-and-eat-a-city-pigeon/475918/3 "2008-12-05T21:38:26Z")
Well, it’s what we did to the passenger pigeon - we ate them. Of course, they didn’t eat New York street food, either. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-would-it-be-to-catch-and-cook-and-eat-a-city-pigeon/475918/4 "2008-12-05T21:44:29Z")
Why not kill something bigger if your hungry and homeless? What do you have to lose in that situation? You could eat a pigeon. I would think eating a squirrel would be a better option. You could even make fingerless gloves, and other furry garments. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-would-it-be-to-catch-and-cook-and-eat-a-city-pigeon/475918/5 "2008-12-05T21:50:25Z")
A recently posted classic: [How do you clean and cook a squirrel?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/15/how-do-you-clean-and-cook-a-squirrel) ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-would-it-be-to-catch-and-cook-and-eat-a-city-pigeon/475918/6 "2008-12-05T22:18:08Z")
Americans are so utterly spoiled about food that anything which is not plain meat of beef or pork or chicken or other few familiar animals seems repugnant. A lot of organs and animals which are commonly eaten around the world are not eaten in America. Pigeons are perfectly good meat and are eaten around the world. To say they are too small is just silly. A hot dog is also “too small”. What they eat might flavor their meat somewhat but not necessarily in a bad way and the meat is still perfectly good. What do you think urban pigeons eat? mufflers? I suppose if we take into account what they breathe it may make it worse but still, I would think the meat is perfectly good. I used to hunt wild pigeons and have eaten them many times. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-would-it-be-to-catch-and-cook-and-eat-a-city-pigeon/475918/7 "2008-12-05T22:20:36Z")
Probably a bit tough if roasted. More likely better in a stew. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-would-it-be-to-catch-and-cook-and-eat-a-city-pigeon/475918/8 "2008-12-05T22:21:36Z")
Yeah I think I’d avoid their lungs and livers on pollution grounds, but other than that, I’m up for some winged rats. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-would-it-be-to-catch-and-cook-and-eat-a-city-pigeon/475918/9 "2008-12-05T22:22:08Z")
> [@sassyfras](#): > > How dangerous would it be to catch and cook and eat a city pigeon? Extremely dangerous. New York pigeons are armed with air-to-ground missiles. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-would-it-be-to-catch-and-cook-and-eat-a-city-pigeon/475918/10 "2008-12-05T22:35:04Z")
I think I’ve mentioned before that I live in a NYC high-rise where pigeons try to breed on my terrace several times per year, and I’ve thought of them as a potential protein source a lot. I have a thread somewhere discussing guillotining them, plucking them, preparing them, cooking them… ---
**Author:** ![YamatoTwinkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/cc9497/32.png) [@YamatoTwinkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YamatoTwinkie)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-would-it-be-to-catch-and-cook-and-eat-a-city-pigeon/475918/11 "2008-12-05T23:01:41Z")
> [@sailor](#): > > Pigeons are perfectly good meat and are eaten around the world. To say they are too small is just silly. A hot dog is also “too small”. True, but you usually don’t have to catch, clean, or really even cook a hot dog. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-would-it-be-to-catch-and-cook-and-eat-a-city-pigeon/475918/12 "2008-12-05T23:05:10Z")
[Pigeon pie](http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/pigeonpie_8159.shtml) is a perfectly well-known (and tasty) dish. Why should pigeon be “dangerous”? ---
**Author:** ![Omegaman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e480ec/32.png) [@Omegaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omegaman)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-would-it-be-to-catch-and-cook-and-eat-a-city-pigeon/475918/13 "2008-12-05T23:25:17Z")
Certainly easy to kill. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an animal that gave a shit less about what’s going on around it. The ones in my hood are fairly large. If I was hungry I wouldn’t even hesitate to roast one up. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotGrrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9dc877/32.png) [@PatriotGrrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotGrrrl)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-would-it-be-to-catch-and-cook-and-eat-a-city-pigeon/475918/14 "2008-12-05T23:46:14Z")
How about gulls? They’re just as fearless (thus easy to catch) and much bigger. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-would-it-be-to-catch-and-cook-and-eat-a-city-pigeon/475918/15 "2008-12-06T00:00:58Z")
> [@sassyfras](#): > > I know the french eat pigeon but I’ve been told those are farm raised. Don’t call me French 😛 And they’re certainly not farm raised, other than that they feast on the seeds laid in the fields! Any friendly farmer will quite happily let you onto his land to shoot them, as long as you know what you’re doing. These, however, are wood pigeons, big and plump and damn tasty. In cities, you’re dealing with feral pigeons, descendents of domesticated rock pigeons. City buildings provide roosts conveniently similar to their natural environment on cliff faces. What I don’t have an answer for is whether there’s any particular health risk involved with eating them. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-would-it-be-to-catch-and-cook-and-eat-a-city-pigeon/475918/16 "2008-12-06T01:09:09Z")
How about those darn geese, that have taken over every suburban corporate business park in America? As for taste, that is why God made ketchup ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-would-it-be-to-catch-and-cook-and-eat-a-city-pigeon/475918/17 "2008-12-06T03:09:58Z")
I would not think there would be any particular health risk in eating an urban pigeon. They mostly eat food that humans have given them, dropped, or disscarded. They are eating bread crumbs, stale hot dog rolls, pretzel fragments, and dropped french fries. They are exposed to the same pollutants and toxic chemicals as the humans in the same environment, and there is nothing about their ecology or diet that should make them particularly prone to concentrating them. Like most wild birds, pigeons are all dark meat. The meat would probably be more flavorful than factory-raised chickens, but I doubt it would be particularly rank or bad tasting. ---
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-would-it-be-to-catch-and-cook-and-eat-a-city-pigeon/475918/18 "2008-12-06T06:02:13Z")
I’ve heard of city chicken but this is ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-would-it-be-to-catch-and-cook-and-eat-a-city-pigeon/475918/19 "2008-12-06T06:15:36Z")
> [@PatriotGrrrl](#): > > How about gulls? They’re just as fearless (thus easy to catch) and much bigger. Gulls can absorb extremely high concentrations of mercury, so if you don’t know what sort of fish they’re eating they might be extremely toxic. ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-would-it-be-to-catch-and-cook-and-eat-a-city-pigeon/475918/20 "2008-12-06T06:20:55Z")
My biggest concerns would be disease and parasites. This [cite](http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/epi/epi-pigeon.shtml), however, seems to indicate that there’s nothing very serious to worry about. Certainly nothing more serious than the risks we take with meat from the supermarket. Actually, the risk is probably less, since we don’t eat many pigeons, and therefore there aren’t any parasites that rely on us eating pigeons. If I had to, I’d avoid any noticeably mangy looking birds, and just clean and cook 'em thoroughly. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-would-it-be-to-catch-and-cook-and-eat-a-city-pigeon/475918.md?page=2)