ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Albuquerque City Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn welcomes some distraction from wildlife.
"As you can see, I have my office set up so that my desk overlooks the building next door because I enjoy watching the pigeons who are often over there hanging out," said Fiebelkorn.
She says earlier this month, the few pigeons she usually sees turned into a flock of about 100.
"So I started looking more closely, and then I had to stop the meeting because I realized there were some in a trap," Fiebelkorn said.
Fiebelkorn started making calls assuming the best. Maybe their wildlife specialist was trapping and banding the birds for research.
"I have higher hopes for the City of Albuquerque than apparently is required," said Fiebelkorn.
She did not get any answers for 10 days. When she asked city administration about the trap at this past Monday's city council meeting, general services director Nathan Martinez said it was to comply with a city ordinance set in 2011 to prevent a pigeon nuisance.
City leaders say pigeons are a health hazard. They spend about $45,000 a year cleaning up pigeon droppings outside city hall so it doesn't make people sick.
So they hired a company a year ago at $1,100 a month to trap and kill the pigeons by snapping their necks.
"You know, pigeons mate for life. So not only have we killed a bunch of pigeons, but we've made a bunch of widows," said Fiebelkorn.
City officials say out of four traps, they were only catching two pigeons, at most, per week.
"I'm going to call their bluff and say that I don't believe that it's true," said Fiebelkorn.
Before the city paused the program last week. But Fiebelkorn is not buying the fecal born danger reasoning for what she's seeing.
"The idea that we just consider them a pest and the administration is willing to pay someone to just kill them randomly by snapping their neck is sad sad sad," Fiebelkorn said.
City officials say the company contracted to dispose of the pigeons is American Veterans Pest Solutions.
Fiebelkorn says she wants to see their qualifications and has questions about the process.
We couldn't find any contact information for the Cedar Crest business. But if the company really is only catching two a week, that means the city is paying it more than $137 a pigeon.