Bermuda's dairy farming methods are largely responsible for a huge growth in the Island's pigeon population, Government Conservation Officer Dr. David Wingate said yesterday.

And a meeting of all involved parties was needed to address the growing problem, he said.

"I would consider local farms as the biggest food source for pigeons helping to sustain their numbers more than anything else,'' Dr. Wingate told The Royal Gazette .

Pigeons have become a nuisance in city parks and are seen as a potential health threat because their feces can contaminate the roofs from which Bermudians collect their drinking water.

Dr. Wingate said there were many reasons for the growing number of pigeons, and Bermuda's increasing urbanisation was a major one. One third of the Island was now urban, and another one third suburban.

Pigeons also arrived regularly from the American Eastern Seaboard and escaped from local coops where they were being raised.

Farmers in Bermuda tended to dump grain into outdoor bins to feed their cattle, making it easy for pigeons to join in the meal. The birds also feed off manure, which in larger farming operations in other countries tended to be plowed into the soil more quickly.

In October, Dr. Wingate said he wanted to help organise a meeting involving pest control companies, the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, the Health Department, dairy farmers, and the Corporation of Hamilton, among others.

The farmers could benefit, because they lost so much feed to pigeons.

Legislation to control the raising of pigeons and managing of dairy operations was among options that could be considered, he said.

Dr. Wingate said he agreed that pigeons had become a potential health threat.

If their feces contaminated drinking water, it could cause salmonella or tuberculosis, he said.

Periodic shootings of pigeons had been organised in rural areas, and feed that would make pigeons sterile could be considered, he said. But use of specialised traps to catch pigeons was another option.