Pigeons As A Carrier of Zoonotic Diseases To Humans

Pigeons scientifically named as Columba livia are a member of order Columbiformes and family 
Columbidae. Their association with humans dates back to prehistoric times. Since time immemorial 
pigeons were used as a source of communication even in world wars dur to their unmatchable homing 
instincts. These avian species have been either kept in captivity or domesticated and properly trained 
for sport purposes and reared for meat purposes as well (Santos et al., 2020). Pigeon racing is popular
sport, which has started developing into multimillion-dollar industry. Because of their closeness to the 
humans and their ability for indoor nesting, they can lead to spread of various zoonotic diseases (Perez-
Sancho et al., 2020).