Barcelona is known for its stunning historical monuments and buildings and its over-growing pigeon population. Although these feathered creatures welcome tourists in parks and open areas in the city, they have become a public nuisance as they are slowly defacing structures and landmarks in Barcelona with their droppings. Last year, the city council has decided to place 85,000 pigeons on contraceptives as a move to reduce their number.

Animal welfare groups rejoiced upon learning that the city council of Barcelona has come up with a more ethical way of stopping their pigeon population, Mail Online reported. They used to catch the birds in nets and cull them in a drastic effort to control their growth. Now a special contraceptive called nicarbazin will be used.

Last year, Barcelona council representative explained that they will set up bird food dispensing stations near parks and places where pigeons are found. Bird food will be laced with contraceptives that will first affect younger birds and will be done from December 2016 until January 2017. A 20 percent reduction in pigeon population is expected for the first year while a 70% to 80% is expected in four to five years.

The Sun reports that pigeon numbers must be controlled as soon as possible to save Barcelona's many historic monuments. Pigeons are mostly found by the hundreds in places like Plaza de Catalunya and in the grounds near basilica De La Merce where tourists give them food. Panhandling pigeons have been splattering famous historical buildings in Barcelona with pool for years.

Using contraceptive to control pigeon population has been used in other European countries as well as a number of Catalan municipalities. This method is very successful because it stops the formation of eggs in female birds. A study will be done by the end of 2017 to find out if the method was able to successfully reduce the bulging population.