Wednesday, 16 August 2023

Pigeons

Georgie PURCELL (Northern Victoria) (09:53): You may not have heard of the term ‘rock dove’. It is the correct name for a pigeon. They are yet another beautiful but misunderstood animal, so I want to take some time to tell you all about them today. Pigeons are incredibly complex and intelligent, yet they are continuously perceived as disease-ridden and filthy. But they are actually very clean animals, and so much more than that too.

My mates the rock doves are one of only a small number of species that can recognise their own reflections. They can also recognise each letter of the alphabet, differentiate between photographs and even distinguish different people within a photograph. They are simply amazing, and we get to live amongst them each day and even see them outside of this very building. As highly sociable animals, pigeons mate for life, and they are a true representation of equal caring responsibilities, with both female and male pigeons working together to raise their young. We could all certainly learn a lot from pigeons. Pigeons are renowned for their outstanding navigational abilities and are still raced at around 20 clubs across Victoria. As you will all know by now, I do not condone the toxic combination of animals and racing, and the rock dove is certainly not exempt from this advocacy.

So today I just wanted to remind everyone in this place about just how great pigeons are and why when we see them on the street, we should appreciate them, not demonise them.