Pigeons Are Mancs Too! Massive Bird Billboard Urges Northerners to Show Them Respect

30th May 2025

Pigeons Are Mancs Too! Massive Bird Billboard Urges Northerners to Show Them Respect

Manchester – As Mancunians flock outdoors to enjoy the warm weather, a PETA pigeon has landed in the city – known for its large population of amiable avians –

to remind everyone that “It Isn’t Just Manchester.” The billboard urges locals to show pigeons some courtesy – because, after all, they partner for life, are devoted parents, and are excellent multitaskers, just like other Mancs.

More photos are available here. The billboard is located at 144 Cheetham Hill Road, M8 8PZ and is live for 1 week. Credit: Vincent Cole Photography. 

“Pigeons are simply trying to eke out an existence for themselves and their families, just like their fellow Mancunians,” says PETA Vice President of Programmes Elisa Allen. “PETA urges people to treat these brave, brainy birds with the same kindness and respect they’d give to any other neighbour.”

Pigeons have complex inner lives and powerful navigational abilities, can identify individual humans by their facial features, and are able to recognise patterns and predict the best solution to a given problem. Pigeons have earned more Dickin Medals – animals’ Victoria Cross – than any other animal for saving the lives of civilians and members of the armed forces during World War II and subsequent conflicts.

PETA urges everyone to refrain from bullying or maligning pigeons and using harmful bird repellents that can trap or poison them. Instead, building owners can respectfully encourage pigeons to move on by making simple building modifications, such as angled ledges.

PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way” – points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits. For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk or follow PETA on Facebook, X, TikTok, or Instagram.

Contact:

Lucy Watson +44 (0) 20 7837 6327; [email protected]

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