A Victorian Approach? (Guest post)

18 February 2026

(The following is a guest post from Ems Hanley of Manchester Pigeon Rehab.)

By the time of writing, you will likely have seen the footage appearing on Manchester Pigeon Rehab’s social media of the pigeon culls happening at Manchester Victoria Railway Station. If not, let me tell you the story…

On the morning of 28^th October 2025 we were alerted to a pigeon in a precarious situation within Manchester Victoria train station. He was hanging upside down by his leg with blood surrounding him, trapped in a gap significantly too small to have fallen through. His injuries were so severe we weren’t sure he required a full leg amputation, for those of you who wish to see – find these on our socials. When we first found Victor we were puzzled by his location; it didn’t make sense that a bird with no neurological symptoms could fly and get caught at this angle, however as it appeared to be an isolated incident we prioritised his emergency surgery over investigating this further. Thankfully we did document this, as we later found out that his injury had occurred just hours after a cull had occurred within the station.

A second pigeon, named Tagliatelle, was reported to our team on the morning of the 25^th November. She was reported to be unable to fly, standing in front of the information office in the main concourse of the train station. When she was brought in for assessment, we discovered a rubber pellet lodged in the back of her neck, causing her pain and preventing her from flying. She has since made a full recovery, following pellet removal, physiotherapy, and red light therapy, however she was released at a different location for her safety. Following Tagliatelle, we did have several concerns.

Shortly after this, we became concerned that pigeon culls were happening in Victoria Station.

For those that don’t know, this is an open station close to the city centre, where pigeons are able to fly in and out freely. We submitted freedom of information requests, which eventually came back informing us that Northern Rail had contracted Ecolab to cull pigeons twice monthly since October 2025 within the station. It was acknowledged in these FOIs that the cull may not be the most effective method long-term, and that only a high degree of accuracy could be guaranteed.

From here, we submitted our evidence of non-fatally injured birds to Northern Rail, along with a request to immediately cease all culling activity and provide evidence in writing. If this request was not met, we informed them that we would go public on social media.

This request was not met.

Up until the 3^rd of February, all discussion regarding the pigeon culls at Victoria Station were discussed by Northern Rail representatives in the present tense.

We provided Northern Rail with a deadline, and a right to reply. They did not meet this deadline. The evidence was also shared with the relevant authorities for further investigation, however as these are ongoing we are unable to comment on this.

Northern Rail found themselves in the comments of our social media, however, defending the cull stating that it was for health reasons; now this doesn’t add up. Victoria station is an open-air railway and tram stop, with birds able to fly in and out, with no enclosed area for droppings or dust to build up.

Onto the good news…

Following significant public outcry and media attention, Northern Rail provided a statement to the Manchester Evening News stating that all cull activity has now been cancelled, and no further activity will occur within Victoria Station.

We would like to say a HUGE thank you to every person and organisation involved in this, we could not have done this alone.

We will of course be monitoring the situation, and can be contacted for tips at mpr.tips [at] gmail.com