As the end of the year approaches, it’s time to take stock of what our donors and volunteers made possible. Compassion for these scrappy birds radically expands what compassion itself means and how much it can hold. For 19 years, this has been a force that drives Palomacy’s life-saving, culture-changing work.
Just a few of the birds we helped over the past months. Your donations and volunteer work make this work possible — thank you!
Direct, hands-on-feathers rescue over the past 12 months:
- We saved 119 new birds and found forever homes for 111 — currently there are 319 pigeons and doves in our foster network.
- We coached and mentored 39 new approved wonderful foster homes (42 more are in progress). Palomacy is a rescue that is creating rescuers! We teach people, and then they teach others.
- We paid nearly $54K in vet bills (at rescue-discounted rates).
- We developed resources for local shelters to improve pigeon care and to find safe adopters.
- We are advocating for pigeons with law enforcement in cruelty cases, and provided medical care for surviving victims.
Verity and Lucy have seen the worst side of people, and the best. Love gets the last word!
National and International Palomacy work during the past 12 months:
- Our Facebook help group grew to 55K+ members seeking and sharing advice.
- 13K+ people requested assistance and advice in the group, and advice shared by our volunteers was viewed 7M+ times!
- Palomacy’s Instagram, TikTok, and BlueSky spread compassion and awareness.
- Nearly 14K people received our newsletter.
- 3500-4000 people contacted our phone line for help with emergency care, local resources, and hands-on rescue.
- Pigeonrescue.org, with articles about all aspects off rescue and care, had 606k+ hits.
- Palomacy attended the International Pigeon Advocacy Conference in the UK (with donated air miles!), connecting with pigeon lovers, rescue workers, and wildlife-management reformers from many countries.
- We supported two public cemeteries banning “dove releases,” which will save many pigeon lives.
Palomacy participated in over 50 educational and culture-changing outreach events:
- Adoption events.
- Street Fairs and festivals (local, seasonal, educational, cultural, and Pride)
- Media (including National Geographic on the history and changing reputation of pigeons. Martha Stewart Weddings on the fate of “wedding doves”, “More Than ‘Street Birds’: Palomacy’s Fight for Rescue Pigeons” by Nicole Borman (Hearst Journalism Award Finalist) and Animalia (a children’s podcast about the animals who share our world).
- Brought together our Palomacy community for a celebration (and fundraising auction!) at Pigeon Ambition. This was the first party since 2023!
- Held a photo/art contest for our new Palomacy Wall Calendar, and also celebrated our creative pigeon and dove people with our Art Contest!
- Classroom visits, adapted to different age groups. Interested teachers please email cynthia@pigeonrescue.org and let’s talk!
- Pigeon Family Story Time at the Berkeley Public Library, attended by a crowd of over 130 littles and their grownups! The first, we hope, of many.
Meet Cal! We first met Cal at the Berkeley Public Library Pigeon Family Story Time! Here he is with Pickles the Pigeon (photo by Dion Campbell)
Cal went home that day and drew this (we’re told he worked on it all afternoon). “Pigeons will come to you, if you are still and quiet.”
And five months later, guess who came to see us at the Berkeley Bird Festival? Cal has reportedly befriended his local flock and visits them every day. At a certain point, children learn as much from their peers as they do from parents and teachers, so it’s important to let them know that pigeons are important and deserve kindness. We expect that Cal will do great things!
The world is changing! Not long ago, if someone contacted us about a pigeon in, say, Madrid or Melbourne, we could only walk them through the basics of first aid. Thee days, there’s a good chance we know of someone within 100 miles who can actually help. We have expanded our “Pigeon-Friendly Rescue Map” worldwide, and we head into our 20th year in the spirit of collaboration, connecting with others who are working to develop truly humane management of feral flocks, educating people about the harm caused by pigeon “sports” and “dove releases“, and promoting the adoption of domestic pigeons and doves as cherished pets. In 2027 we also plan to expand class visits and work with young people. Reaching out to the younger humans will help the pigeons of the future. We’re working towards a time when pigeons are not held in contempt, targeted by those who think no one will care because “they’re just pigeons”
Palomacy Pigeon and Dove Adoptions is foster-based, volunteer-driven and donation-funded. We could not help the birds without you. Thank you so much for your compassion.
