German pigeons will be tricked into eating contraceptive pills as part of a train station’s unusual plan to remove huge amounts of bird mess.

Deutsche Bahn, the German rail provider, has launched a trial period of lacing bird feed at Berlin’s Südkreuz rail station with a “pigeon pill” that renders the animals infertile.

For a three-year period, starting this month, workers will spread corn kernels coated with the drug around the station, which could significantly reduce the pigeon population in the area.

“Deutsche Bahn plans to use the drug at Südkreuz station in the Tempelhof-Schöneberg district for a period of three years, starting in March 2025,” the rail provider confirmed in response to a parliamentary question by an MP from the centre-Left Social Democrats party.

According to the Berliner Kurier newspaper, which first reported the proposal, the pill being used is called Ovistop and has already been approved in Italy, opening the door to trials in other EU member states.