Council OKs Limits on Homing Pigeons

An ordinance to regulate homing pigeons was adopted recently by City Council members with no objections from the public, although pigeon racers say they may have difficulty complying with a 100-bird limit.

Award-winning pigeon racer Marius Nitulescu and his son breed and train pigeons in the backyard of their home. During breeding, their birds sometimes exceed the new 100-pigeon limit.

But their numbers are soon reduced, Nitulescu said, when training and racing begins, since a number of the birds do not make their way home.

The creation of the ordinance, the first of its kind in the city, was sparked by complaints from a neighbor about the appearance of Nitulescu’s plywood pigeon lofts, which he may be forced to rebuild.

--BY STEVE CARNEY, HOPE HAMASHIGE AND RUSS LOAR