Pigeon trap cage UK
Updated: 21 October 2026
A feral pigeon on a ledge, a wood pigeon on a crop, and a racing pigeon at your loft are three jobs. Only some of them are a cage under a 2026 general licence. A pigeon trap cage UK page has to name the bird before it names a product. Magpies, crows and garden songbirds are on [bird trap rules in the UK](/hub/traps/bird-trap/sub/bird-trap-uk-law). Prices are on the [bird trap comparison](/hub/traps/bird-trap). Peter F. read GL41, GL42, GL33 and the amazon.co.uk listings on 19 October 2026. A marketplace title was not treated as permission. If you buy through our links, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
A feral pigeon on a ledge, a wood pigeon on a crop, and a racing pigeon at your loft are three jobs. Only some of them are a cage under a 2026 general licence.
A feral pigeon on a ledge, a wood pigeon on a crop, and a racing pigeon at your loft are three jobs. Only some of them are a cage under a 2026 general licence. A pigeon trap cage UK page has to name the bird before it names a product. Magpies, crows and garden songbirds are on bird trap rules in the UK. Prices are on the bird trap comparison. Peter F. read GL41, GL42, GL33 and the amazon.co.uk listings on 19 October 2026. A marketplace title was not treated as permission. If you buy through our links, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Listed as | Stated size | Pigeon fit | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  Gonetre Gonetre bird catching net | Catching net | Not stated | A net, not a cage | 7.2 | about £18.19 | View offer |
| Best value |  HFSAZJ HFSAZJ one-door pigeon cage | One-door pigeon cage | 40 × 30 × 26 cm | In the size band | 4.6 | about £11.89 | View offer |
| Alternative |  ybaymy ybaymy four-door pigeon cage | Four-door pigeon cage | 60 × 40 × 26 cm | Largest stated cage | 3.6 | about £37.99 | View offer |
On this page
Three pigeons, three jobs
A feral pigeon on a building is the bird people mean when droppings make a fire escape slippery, or nests block a gutter. In England for 2026, GL41 lists feral pigeon for slips and falls, for disease spread to humans, and for nesting that threatens health or safety. It is not a licence to clear every pigeon because you dislike them. You have to be a person the licence authorises.
A wood pigeon is a different column. On the GL42 page used here it is listed for serious damage to livestock foodstuffs and to crops, fruit and vegetables. Feral pigeon is on that damage licence for foodstuffs and crops, not for a direct attack on the animals. Wood pigeon is not on the GL41 table read for this page. Trapping one because it is on the lawn is not the purpose those tables describe.
The third bird is yours. A racing pigeon comes home through a loft entrance, not a wild-bird take. Mixing the three is how a finch cage, a 12 cm cube and a loft door share one search. The bird trap buying guide separates those objects.
What the 2026 tables allow
You rely on a general licence when you meet it. From 1 January 2026 the England licences are issued by Natural England. GL33, valid to 31 December 2026, names five designs: walk-in multi-catch, Larsen, Larsen mate, Larsen pod, and pigeon trap. The pigeon trap is a mesh cage birds walk into through a one-way entrance to reach food. It is not a compartment with a call bird.
GL41 names jackdaw and monk parakeet as cage-trap decoys, not feral pigeon. GL42’s decoy list does not name feral pigeon or wood pigeon. A live pigeon in a side compartment is the Larsen habit, and these tables do not give it to you.
NRW general licence 002 limits a feral-pigeon cage to a walk-in or a pigeon trap, with an inspection that must not pass 25 hours, and the cage must be made incapable of holding birds when it is not in use. In Northern Ireland, DAERA’s TPG1 includes feral pigeon and jackdaw, and TPG2 adds wood pigeon. Confirm Sunday conditions on the DAERA PDF. This page has not line-checked that PDF.
Cages in this comparison
Only two listings are one-way cages you can read as pigeon-sized. The ybaymy is 60 × 40 × 26 cm. A UK reviewer said pigeons escaped through the sides within three days. The HFSAZJ is 40 × 30 × 26 cm, sold as one door while the bullets also say four-side entrances. UK reviews cite a door the wrong size and pigeons that would not enter. Those defects are on the best bird trap page. Neither listing is a government-approved trap.
The MetS cages that print a width are about 16 cm and name finch. That does not hold a feral pigeon or a wood pigeon. The Peosaard table says 12 × 12 × 12 cm and still puts pigeon in the title. The Gonetre product is a net. Section 5 of the 1981 Act restricts nets unless a licence allows that method. If you cannot inspect on the interval, do not buy a cage in order to leave it set.
Loft entrances
A bob-wire loft entrance is not in this amazon set. Racing-pigeon suppliers sell loft entries from about £15.95. That figure is one retailer’s price, not a shelf price from this comparison. You do not need GL41 to fit a door on your own loft, and a loft door is not a wild-bird take.
Do not point the ybaymy or the HFSAZJ at your own returning pigeons and call it loft management. Those cages are sold as catches. If feral pigeons are also on the loft roof, that is the feral-pigeon column again. Identify the birds before you buy. A wood pigeon on a crop and a feral pigeon on a fire escape do not share a column on the England tables read here.
Common questions
Can feral pigeons be trapped for droppings and slips?
In England, GL41 for 2026 lists feral pigeon for slips and falls, for disease risk to people, and for nesting that affects health or safety. Droppings are relevant when they are that risk, not as a general dislike of birds on a balcony. You still need to be an authorised person, to use a permitted method, and to meet GL33’s trap conditions, including a physical inspection at least every 25 hours. The listing on amazon.co.uk is not the licence.
Is a wood pigeon on the same licence column as a feral pigeon?
Not on the GL41 table read for this page. Wood pigeon appears on GL42 for serious damage to livestock foodstuffs and to crops, fruit and vegetables. Feral pigeon is on both: GL41 for the public-health purposes above, and GL42 for foodstuffs and crops. A wood pigeon on a roof is not, on these pages, the same case as a feral pigeon on a fire escape. Read the current table for your nation before you treat them as one bird.
May I use a live pigeon as a decoy the way a Larsen uses a crow?
Not on the decoy lists quoted here. GL41 names jackdaw and monk parakeet as cage-trap decoys, not feral pigeon. GL42’s decoy list does not name feral pigeon or wood pigeon. GL33’s pigeon trap is a one-way entrance to food, not a call-bird compartment. Copying corvid practice into a pigeon cage is how people leave the general licence without noticing.
Which cages in this set are pigeon-sized on the listing?
The ybaymy at 60 × 40 × 26 cm and the HFSAZJ at 40 × 30 × 26 cm. The MetS cages that print a width are about 16 cm, and they name finch or bird. The Peosaard table says 12 × 12 × 12 cm. The Gonetre listing is a net with no dimensions. UK reviews on the two larger cages report escapes through the sides, or a door that does not fit and pigeons that would not enter.
Is a loft bob-wire a wild-bird trap?
No. A bob-wire entrance from about £15.95 at a racing-pigeon supplier is a door for the loft, so the owner’s birds can come in. It is not one of the seven ASINs in this comparison, and it is not a take under GL41 or GL42. If the birds are yours, shop for the entrance. If they are feral pigeons on a building, a loft door does not answer the licence question.
What does Wales allow as a feral-pigeon cage type?
NRW general licence 002 limits feral-pigeon cages to a walk-in multi-catch or a pigeon trap. The inspection must not exceed 25 hours, and a cage that is not in use must be made incapable of holding birds. A 16 cm wooden finch cage is not that design. England’s GL33 list is wider in the names it prints, and it still does not include a 12 cm cube. Read the Welsh licence if the building is in Wales.
What is the Northern Ireland split between TPG1 and TPG2?
On the DAERA wildlife licensing page, TPG1 includes feral pigeon and jackdaw. TPG2 adds wood pigeon and corvids. TPG3 covers hooded crow and magpie from 1 March to 31 August. That is the species split, not a full copy of the PDF. Sunday conditions and the method lines have to be read on the DAERA document itself. Do not lift them from an England GL41 page.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources from the research digest, plus amazon.co.uk listings for the seven traps. Shelf date 19 October 2026. Natural England issues the England general licences quoted here from 1 January 2026.
- Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- GOV.UK, bird licences (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- GL33 (2026), trapping wild birds (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- GL41, public health or safety (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- GL42, serious damage (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- NRW general licences 2026 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- NatureScot, trap registration (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- DAERA, wildlife licensing (retrieved 19 October 2026)