Guest Speakers for the 2026 International Pigeon Advocacy Conference

We're so excited to announce our absolutely amazing guest speakers for our conference. 

(...with more to be announced soon, so keep checking back!)

Rory

Rory is a third-year veterinary student at Western College of Veterinary Medicine and she has ten years of experience working with various wildlife species at Living Sky Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre. During her time at LSWR, Rory fell in love with pigeons and started rehabilitating them on her own in 2020. Since then, she has raised hundreds of squabs and implemented new protocols that significantly improved patient outcomes. Rory believes that all animals deserve access to veterinary care, including pigeons. It is her mission 

to highlight Columbidae species in the veterinary context to educate others about pigeons and doves. Through her work, Rory hopes to help alleviate the urgent need for pigeon veterinarians and one day become the pigeon vet. 

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Clare Kinder, Kinder Bird Rescue

Clare is one half of Kinder Bird Rescue. She has been rehabbing birds since she was very young. When she met her husband, Chris, he came on board, and they grew the rescue from there. Birds have always been Clare’s passion, with pigeons being her absolute favourites. “They are so beautiful and so unfairly maligned. I will champion them every time.” Over the decades, they have learnt a lot and hope to inspire more people to get involved, and support small rescues up and down the country. Clare is vegan and is your gal if you want to know all the best vegan junk food! Outside of the rescue, she runs her own business, Hex, a body piercing studio. She loves being outside surrounded by nature.

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Aspen and Hannah, Philly Pigeon Tours:

Aspen Simone (they/them) is a co-founder of Philly Pigeon Tours. They have a decade-plus career in civic technology, working for agencies and companies focused on regional planning, zoning, and sustainability, as well as on federal benefits and environmental cleanup programs. They hold a Bachelor's in Geography from Dartmouth, spanning natural and urban geography, as well as a Master's in Conflict Resolution from UMass Boston.

Hannah Michelle Brower (she/her) is a co-founder of Philly Pigeon Tours. A lifelong birder, Hannah got her start in nature education during high school at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans, and holds a Bachelor's in Psychology from Haverford College, and a Master of Science in Epidemiology from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She also teaches about bugs with Insectopia, and holds a professional certificate in restorative justice from Suffolk University.

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Jenna Close, Moose's Flock

Jenna will be joining us in person all the way from San Diego, CA, USA, to speak about pigeon racing. Pigeon racing is a big business in the US and remains a very popular activity. Jenna will cover the various training and racing practices involved in this ‘sport’ as well as the trauma experienced by pigeons who don’t make it home. US pigeon rescues receive a flood of lost and injured racing pigeons each year - to this day these birds remain the primary form of pigeon to be taken to Moose’s Flock and others.

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Ems, Manchester Pigeon Rehab

Ems has been involved with rescuing birds for as long as she can remember, starting with waterfowl, before transitioning to gulls and pigeons. She is currently a pigeon rehabber based in Manchester, co-running Manchester Pigeon Rehab. MPR was founded in 2023 as a small Facebook community, before growing to the large rescue/rehabilitation, stringfoot, and advocacy network it is today. In the past year, Manchester Pigeon Rehab have developed a second branch focusing exclusively on combating lethal methods of pest control against pigeons, beginning with their successful campaign focusing on Manchester Victoria train station, now continuing UK-wide.

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Karolina Richterova

Karolina Richterova has been involved in animal rescue her whole life, but has focused mainly on pigeons since 2019. She is a pigeon rehabber and rescuer. She carries out pigeon rescues ranging from destringing, denetting and loft rescues, as well as rescuing injured and distressed pigeons. She is also involved in city pigeon houses.
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Iris and Princess Pav

Iris is one half of Love a Dove, a UK-wide pigeon matchmaking and rehoming service. Having grown up with a pigeon-obsessed grandfather, she has loved pigeons for as long as she can remember. Alongside running Love a Dove, she is a small scale pigeon rehabber, providing care to injured and vulnerable pigeons while challenging negative misconceptions about them and promoting more informed care. She is joined in this mission by Princess Pavlova Peckington, a rescue pigeon she rehabitlitated last year, who has since become Love a Dove's ambassador and primary matchmaker. Together, they aim to make 'coo-panions' as much a natural part of home life as cats and dogs, and help every pigeon find the love they deserve.
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Billie Savage Pigeon Conference

Kevin Newell - Humane Wildlife Solutions

Jennifer Beasley - Pigeon Physiotherapy

Dr Richard Saunders

Aneesa Malik

Shakira Free Miles

Sam Crick - How to Catch a Pigeon