Since city pigeons are the descendants of domesticated pigeons, why not just catch and eat them, to thin their numbers?

From one of my dove hunter friends, “If I happen to get an occasional pigeon, It’s all good. They’re like bigger, tastier doves.” They are apparently good on the grill wrapped in bacon.

I invite you to go catch some and cook them up. Check if your local city has any laws against it, but many don’t. Make sure you know how to clean and dress and cook it properly.

Can you still domesticate them?

They’re the dirtier urban cousins of doves. I believe they carry a few diseases which make them not optimal for consumption?

Not a good idea.
Wild birds are pretty much bags of parasites. It OK to eat them if you clean them and cook them thoroughly. Their guts and internal organs contain worms (Trematodes, Nematodes and Cestodes) and protozoans (Giardia, Trichomonas, etc). Skin and feathers are loaded with fleas, mites and ticks.

I would never eat a flying rat. I do want to live to my next birthday.

What do you think Bert’s been doing all these years over on Sesame Street??

I suspect most city dwellers couldn’t catch a pigeon if they tried and if they did, they’d likely not know what to do with it. They would probably be a decent meal. BTW @Blackwater_Park EVERYTHING is better wrapped in bacon!

In most city places they congregate, they would have to be shot at. City officials don’t like that…

You don’t want to take chances eating big city feral pigeons. They can harbor horrifying pathogens and lethal toxins as you might well imagine. Think for a second what a city pigeon might ingest and concentrate in its tissues. No thank you. That’s one roll of the dice I’m willing to leave to the feral cats and peregrine falcons. But they are ridiculously easy to catch if you put your mind to it. A good version of a big butterfly net and a little observation on where they roost at night is all it takes. Their sheer numbers insure bountiful harvesting.

Most city pigeons are actually a species called Rock Dove. They are attracted to cities because talk structures resemble cliffs and large rocks.

That being said, I would not hunt for anythin in any city over 1000 population.

Yes they concentrate in the cities for the same reasons as the people (and the rats). And like the people, they are susceptible to the same hazards (and diseases) associated with crowding and inadequate sanitation to dissipate the “load”. The birds are notoriously lice infested. Believe me, you wanna know where your squab has been raised and what its been fed.