Debated in Parliament on 22 Sep 2025.
Mr Abdul Muhaimin Abdul Malik asked the Minister for National Development (a) whether any studies have been conducted to address the issue of pigeon roosting and defecation at the air-conditioner ledges of HDB flats which poses hygiene and maintenance concerns for residents; and (b) whether the Home Improvement Programme can be enhanced to mitigate this issue, including upgrades to the design of the clothes drying rack in affected flat types.
My response will also address other questions related to pigeon management filed by Mr Abdul Muhaimin and Mr Patrick Tay for subsequent Sittings. Should the Members feel that my response sufficiently addresses their questions, the Members may wish to withdraw their questions.
National Parks Board (NParks) takes a proactive, holistic and science-based approach to manage the pigeon population across Singapore. These include direct population control, with trapping and removal, habitat modification, enforcement against illegal bird-feeding and education and outreach efforts to reduce human-generated food sources.
Since July 2024, NParks has partnered Town Councils, the National Environment Agency and Singapore Food Agency to step up these efforts in hotspots under the pigeon management pilot. The pilot showed encouraging results. There has been a decrease in the estimated pigeon population by around 50% across the three town councils, namely Ang Mo Kio, Bishan Toa-Payoh and Tanjong Pagar. The pigeon-related feedback is around 34% lower than the average. These results were derived by comparing against control areas that were not part of the pilot.
In June 2025, NParks expanded the pigeon management plan to three more hotspot town councils, namely Jalan Besar, Marsiling-Yew Tee and Nee Soon. NParks will scale this up across Singapore in phases to help manage the pigeon population.
Specific to the Housing and Development Board (HDB) estates, NParks and HDB have been studying pigeon-related issues and will continue to monitor feedback from residents and trial deterrent measures, such as bird nettings, in consultation with town councils. There are currently no plans to modify the Home Improvement Programme to address this issue.
Keeping the pigeon population under control requires a collective community effort. As bird feeding and human-generated food sources are key drivers of pigeon population growth, we urge residents not to feed birds and to keep our environment clean. NParks will also continue to take enforcement action against individuals who feed pigeons.
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