Control of the urban pigeon Columba livia population and the preservation of common swift Apus apus and bats Chiroptera during the restoration of the Ghirlandina tower in the city of Modena (Italy)

The problem of the excessive abundance of the urban pigeon Columba livia population in the city of Modena has been solved thanks to the cooperation between the Modena Municipal authority and the Local Veterinary Service (AUSL). They have followed an integrated program that contains the following points: use of an oral veterinary licensed drug (Ovistop®, ACME, 1997-2002) in order to limit the pigeons fertility; use of architectural devices in order to limit the access of the pigeons in private and public structures, periodic monitoring of the colonies of pigeons and public information regarding the treatments and the integrated program. In the year 2008 Modena Municipality started the restoration of the Ghirlandina Tower. The above-mentioned authorities decided to exclude the pigeon population from the many scaffold holes existent on the tower. However, rather than completely remove all the scaffold holes to limit the pigeon reproduction, they decided to reduce the size of the scaffold holes, to allow access only to smaller animals, like Common swifts Apus apus and bats. In conclusion, the Modena Municipal Authority and the Local Veterinary Service have reached two important results: the first one was the effective reduction in the number of urban pigeons and the second one was the preservation of some animal species that are essential components of biodiversity in the city of Modena.