By Haidee Chu, October 4, 2023

“Dig if you will a new City Council bill, one that is ruffling feathers among businesses that supply doves and white pigeons for release, often during weddings or funerals.

Councilmembers Carlina Rivera, Lynn Schulman and Shaun Abreu last week introduced legislation to ban the commercial release of birds. The law would make it illegal for individuals to set birds flying for a fee, or to purchase or keep them to do so.

The goal, Rivera told THE CITY, is to clip the wings of a cottage industry that profits from having white pigeons, or “doves” — which are also covered under the proposed legislation — fly out of cages and into the sky.  

A more restrictive law banning the import, sale or ownership of pigeons already exists in Chicago. But no similar regulation exists in other big cities including New York, where a niche pigeon subculture has drawn obsessive fanciers and competitive bird racers for decades, with clubs going back to at least as far back as the late 19th century. 

“These bird releases — they’re just a harmful and cruel way to mark weddings, gender reveals and memorial services,” said Rivera, who represents an area that includes Madison Square Park, where a white pigeon that had been colored pink died this year, likely due to inhaling toxic fumes from the dye, not long after it was set free at a gender reveal party.”

Read more: https://www.thecity.nyc/2023/10/04/dove-pigeons-release-wedding-funeral-city-council-bill