If you are eating pigeon in a London restaurant this year, you may be eating some of the 4,000 pigeons which have allegedly been stolen, or just taken, from the huge flocks on Trafalgar Square. Four thousand. That's an awful lot of pigeon, but one stallholder who sells pigeon food to the tourists and others who enjoy the birds, swears that one fellow comes along with a big box, into which the birds go to get the bait lying there. The London Times was all excited about this on Saturday and had not only page one coverage with picture, but stories inside, cooking hints and even a third leader. Naturally, the city pigeons (feral pigeons), are not a patch on the real thing, the woodpigeon, but the woodpigeon this year has been scarce in England - scarce for shooters. It's another result of the good summer, they say. For the woods still contain plenty of nuts and soft fruits, and the woodpigeons haven't had to go out among crops in open fields, where they are more usually shot.
Supplies vanished before Christmas, one supplier is quoted as saying. The city pigeons wouldn't have the flesh or the flavour of the real thing, but cooks could do wonders in mincing or shredding them and seasoning them and so on.
Sainsbury's normally sell oven ready woodpigeons for £2.45, according to the Times. They would not pass the London birds. Top city restaurants use, for roasting, baby pigeons or squabs, usually only four weeks old, and fed on "pigeon's milk", regurgitated, predigested food fed to them by the mother. They are dear, it is said, and come mostly from France, the Bresse region. Poulet de Bresse is high grade chicken, too. You can get squab at Le Gavroche in London with fresh truffles, cream and foie gras, for £38.25.
Here in Ireland you can still be shaken to your back teeth with the sound of the explosion when wood pigeons, startled by your coming, break out of the treetops. As bad as a pheasant. Interesting point made by the newspaper: feral pigeons are suspected of being carriers of meningitis, dermatitis and virulent gastroenteritis. Apart from the elaborate dish quoted above, pigeon breasts, panfried with cranberry sauce are most acceptable. Some like them with stewed red cabbage.
It's close season now, but land owners and their designated agents can shoot them if they are proving a nuisance to crops. That could be loosely interpreted as an invitation.
Postscript. On Monday's paper, Dr Thomas Stuttaford says the people most at risk from disease are the pigeon catcher, the plucker, and cook. Skilled chefs will know a scrawny London bird from a plump Norfolk woodpigeon.