# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-would-it-be-to-catch-and-cook-and-eat-a-city-pigeon/475918/21 "2008-12-06T06:23:10Z")
[Here](http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/07/does-pigeon-mea.html) is an article from Wired that I read a few months ago: Pigeons: The Next Step in Local Eating (No, Really) \ You see, city pigeons are the feral descendants of birds that were domesticated by humans thousands of years ago so that we could eat them and use their guano as fertilizer, we read in Der Spiegel. They’re still doing their part, i.e. eating and breeding, but we humans have stopped doing ours, i.e. eating them. \ ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-would-it-be-to-catch-and-cook-and-eat-a-city-pigeon/475918/22 "2008-12-06T09:06:27Z")
> [@PatriotGrrrl](#): > > How about gulls? They’re just as fearless (thus easy to catch) and much bigger. We recently had a thread about gulls being edible. Hey, I found it. > **[Are Gulls Edible](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=493020)** > > There are hundreds of these buggers flying and shitting all over the place (mostly on my car) and I got to wondering can they be eaten?. They’re big, fat and certainly look to have plenty of meat on their bones. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-would-it-be-to-catch-and-cook-and-eat-a-city-pigeon/475918/23 "2008-12-06T14:40:51Z")
Probably not much different from their cousins the mourning doves, which are hunted and eaten on a regular basis. [Here are some dove recipes,](http://mdc.mo.gov/nathis/birds/doves/recip.htm) which should work as well for your pigeon. As for gulls, my family has an oral history of one of our ancestors getting stalled out on the trip over from Europe (becalmed in the horse latitudes, I think), and he supposedly figured out how to capture seagulls for food during this time. According to oral tradition, they tasted awful. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-would-it-be-to-catch-and-cook-and-eat-a-city-pigeon/475918/24 "2008-12-06T14:43:30Z")
Many parks have ornamental ponds with geese,ducks and swans on them…drool,and of course there are quite often plenty of dogs and cats around,not so pleasant but perfectly edible. Oh and before I forget then theres the song birds. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-would-it-be-to-catch-and-cook-and-eat-a-city-pigeon/475918/25 "2008-12-06T14:48:59Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > They’re still doing their part, i.e. eating and breeding, but we humans have stopped doing ours, i.e. eating them. > \ If the economy gets bad enough, that may change. ---
**Author:** ![ung427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d9b06d/32.png) [@ung427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ung427)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-would-it-be-to-catch-and-cook-and-eat-a-city-pigeon/475918/26 "2012-02-17T05:20:25Z")
If the bird is healthy it shouldn’t be too bad. I hunt and eat pigeon and they are delicious! All you get is the breast meat since everything else is too little to bother with. You can hunt them with an air rifle and you can take out the breast mean without any tools. It comes right out if you do it right! A good meal for the cost of three air rifle pellets! If only the homeless people knew… but then again I wouldn’t want to see some of those crazy guys walking around with air rifles! ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-would-it-be-to-catch-and-cook-and-eat-a-city-pigeon/475918/27 "2012-02-17T05:23:13Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > How about those darn geese, that have taken over every suburban corporate business park in America? I have heard that they are greasy. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-would-it-be-to-catch-and-cook-and-eat-a-city-pigeon/475918/28 "2012-02-17T06:17:01Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > 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 I know that there are organizations that hunt Canada geese and donate the meat to homeless shelters. What kind of preparation would help reduce said greasiness? Grilling, maybe? ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-would-it-be-to-catch-and-cook-and-eat-a-city-pigeon/475918/29 "2012-02-17T06:17:22Z")
I’d steer clear of large grassy open areas in and around UC Santa Cruz. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-would-it-be-to-catch-and-cook-and-eat-a-city-pigeon/475918/30 "2012-02-17T09:13:36Z")
But how do zombie pigeons taste? ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-would-it-be-to-catch-and-cook-and-eat-a-city-pigeon/475918/31 "2012-02-17T09:24:25Z")
Is it even legal, say in NYC, to trap, kill, and eat pigeons? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-would-it-be-to-catch-and-cook-and-eat-a-city-pigeon/475918/32 "2012-02-17T10:18:12Z")
I’ve often thought of doing this - sure, a lot of city pigeons are scrawny and diseased, but it’s usually possible to find very healthy, plump, young-looking birds too - in some of the city parks here in the UK, the feral pigeons are a mixture of rock dove, turtle dove and wood pigeon (not sure if they actually interbreed, or just live happily together in mixed flocks). Things that put me off the idea: \*\*Potential issues with the law, and perception thereof \*\*- even if it’s not illegal for a private individual to capture and kill feral city pigeons, that might not prevent me being arrested for creating a disturbance, or being assaulted by a member of public **Aesthetics** - to a certain extent, things taste like what they eat. In the case of city pigeons, this includes decomposing garbage and piles of vomit left by late night binge drinkers. **Health/contamination** - not desperately worried about this - there’s a possibility of contamination with pollutants, but I wouldn’t think this is very severe, as pigeons are not top of the food chain. I’d only eat the breast meat, so physical contamination is less of an issue. **External parasites and avian disease** - I’ve got a pet budgie, so I don’t wish to be bringing potentially diseased/infested pigeon remains into my home. I eat and enjoy wild wood pigeon, but that’s a different thing really. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-would-it-be-to-catch-and-cook-and-eat-a-city-pigeon/475918/33 "2012-02-17T13:38:49Z")
> [@Spoke](#): > > As for gulls, my family has an oral history of one of our ancestors getting stalled out on the trip over from Europe (becalmed in the horse latitudes, I think), and he supposedly figured out how to capture seagulls for food during this time. According to oral tradition, they tasted awful. 😃 Did they hang the dead gull around their neck afterwards? ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-would-it-be-to-catch-and-cook-and-eat-a-city-pigeon/475918/34 "2012-02-17T13:50:29Z")
Only if the seagulls were bloody albatross flavored. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-would-it-be-to-catch-and-cook-and-eat-a-city-pigeon/475918/35 "2012-02-17T15:00:29Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Yeah I think I’d avoid their lungs and livers on pollution grounds, but other than that, I’m up for some winged rats. And, 4 years later, I’d like to redact this post. I’ve learned a lot since then. Pigeons are huge carriers of TB and various other icky germs in their feathers, some of which can be transmitted to humans. While I wouldn’t turn down the meat from a city pigeon if \*you \*killed it and cleaned it, I would not be willing to handle a dead pigeon with feathers intact unless I had some pretty serious PPD. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-would-it-be-to-catch-and-cook-and-eat-a-city-pigeon/475918/36 "2012-02-17T15:15:56Z")
> [@appleciders](#): > > I know that there are organizations that hunt Canada geese and donate the meat to homeless shelters. > > What kind of preparation would help reduce said greasiness? Grilling, maybe? Goose meat will always be on the fatty side, but generally you need to poke it all over with a pin or tines of a sharp fork and roast it (after trimming the big pieces of fat off). It will expel a _lot_ of grease. However, this fat is about half the point of cooking a goose or duck, so I don’t think the fat content is a liability at all. It’s a feature. Collect all the grease you can, render the trimmed fat, and you have one of the most sought-after cooking fats. Awesome for roast potatoes. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-would-it-be-to-catch-and-cook-and-eat-a-city-pigeon/475918/37 "2012-02-17T15:51:42Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Goose meat will always be on the fatty side, but generally you need to poke it all over with a pin or tines of a sharp fork and roast it (after trimming the big pieces of fat off). It will expel a _lot_ of grease. However, this fat is about half the point of cooking a goose or duck, so I don’t think the fat content is a liability at all. It’s a feature. Collect all the grease you can, render the trimmed fat, and you have one of the most sought-after cooking fats. Awesome for roast potatoes. Yup. But do bear in mind that all that fat means your bird’s finished cooking weight is a far cry from his purchase weight. Plan on a pound to a pound and a half of goose per person, and you’ll end up with a modest serving for all. Plan it like a chicken and everyone’s getting no more than a mouthful! I like Cook’s Illustrated “dunk in a pot of boiling water” method, too. It tightens the skin, which seems to squeeze out the fat as it roasts. If properly trimmed, dunked, pricked and roasted, the final meat of a goose isn’t a bit greasy. ETA: I would not recommend grilling a goose. If you try it, keep a fire extinguisher nearby for flare ups and don’t leave for a second, 'cause you’re basically cooking a leaking oil pot over a flame. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-would-it-be-to-catch-and-cook-and-eat-a-city-pigeon/475918/38 "2012-02-17T16:12:41Z")
> [@PatriotGrrrl](#): > > How about gulls? They’re just as fearless (thus easy to catch) and much bigger. > [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > 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. A fisherman explained to me that Gulls have very sandy, gritty meat and thus not good eats. ---
**Author:** ![misling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ab097/32.png) [@misling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/misling)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-would-it-be-to-catch-and-cook-and-eat-a-city-pigeon/475918/39 "2012-02-17T17:49:02Z")
This is hearsay, but I’d always heard that the meat of a creature that eats a lot of fish (such as bears during salmon spawning season) is fishy-tasting and not very good to eat. This was from my dad and his hunting buddies (Alaskans) but none of them actually ate bears so I don’t know where they got it. I wonder if the same idea would apply to seagulls and other fish eating birds? ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-would-it-be-to-catch-and-cook-and-eat-a-city-pigeon/475918/40 "2012-02-17T18:03:51Z")
I can’t imagine why it wouldn’t. Hell, I can taste the difference between grass-fed and grain-fed beef, so I can imagine that a diet of fish might be worse for the taste of the meat. If pigeons are really TB carriers as **WhyNot** said above, why isn’t all of New York City hacking and wheezing? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-would-it-be-to-catch-and-cook-and-eat-a-city-pigeon/475918.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-would-it-be-to-catch-and-cook-and-eat-a-city-pigeon/475918.md?page=3)