Percepção de usuários de espaços públicos de Curitiba, Paraná, sobre a presença de pombos (Columba livia)

Abstract

The pigeons (Columba livia) in the urban environment are a public health problem due to injuries caused by them. This study evaluated the perception of people in the squares of Curitiba, Paraná downtown, for the presence of pigeons. In 2012, were interviewed students and university servers, residents, merchants and passersby with a semi-structured questionnaire. Respondents were against the presence of pigeons (533/887, 60.1%, p<0.01) and the proportion of women against was higher than the proportion of men (p=0.04). Most respondents considered the amount of pigeons exaggerated (617/887, 69.6%, p=0.04) and 272/617 (44.1%) attributed as the cause food availability. 825/887 (93%) informed that pigeons can carry disease. The main affections informed were respiratory diseases (127/360, 35.3%) and diseases caused by louse or fleas (82/360, 22.8%), the main problem reported was dirt (116/202, 57.4%) and the main action approved for population control was education of the population (617/887, 69.6%) through television (273/887, 30.8%). The study showed that people living with pigeons in urban centers do not agree with their presence and the measures to control are with people and not directly in the animals.