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Conservation Authority Blocks Limburg’s Plan to Cull 200 Pigeons

The authority cited insufficient evidence of substantial economic harm to grant an exception under the Federal Species Protection Ordinance

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Overview

  • On June 30, 2025, the Lower Nature Conservation Authority of Limburg-Weilburg rejected the city’s application to catch and kill 200 urban pigeons
  • Limburg’s culling initiative had been endorsed by a November 2023 council resolution and affirmed in a June 2024 citizen referendum
  • In March 2025 the Hessian Environment and Agriculture Ministry reversed a 2022 decree, restoring city pigeons’ status as protected wild animals
  • Federal law requires an exception permit for lethal measures against wild species, which hinges on demonstrating ‘substantial common economic damage’
  • The city now faces the choice of proving significant economic harm or abandoning lethal control and pursuing nonlethal pigeon management options