Is this really the best way to get rid of pigeons?

This video of bird catchers in Spain really upsets me. The pigeons are tricked with food, sent into shock beneath a catapulted net, and later asphyxiated using carbon dioxide gas. I dislike pigeons just as much as any New Yorker, but I don’t think I could bring myself to hurt, or torture the poor birds.

Then it got me wondering — what are NYC’s pigeon-control methods? The results shocked me even more. In my hometown, some people go as far as to catch pigeons in cages or nets, and illegally transport them outside of the city to restaurants, or shooting ranges to be used for sport. So the dirty, nasty, poop-happy birds we despise so much, could actually end up on our dinner plates.

Nobody likes pigeons, but are they really so terrible that we must resort to hillbilly methods of extraction?