To think what this man did was kind ( trigger warning ⚠️)

Not unless the man took the dead pigeon home with him, they're not. They'll have eaten the pigeon after he'd killed it.

So yes, it was the kindest thing to do for the pigeon and the seagulls will still get to eat. Generally speaking, if a pigeon's getting attacked by gulls it's usually a pigeon that was already sick/injured anyway, and dispatching it was the right thing to do if he knew how to do it quickly.

Were the birds herring gulls? Op didn't say

That is really kind of him.

I remember, as a child, on holiday, my dad was driving along a country lane, a car came the other way and a pheasant got caught between the two cars. Both stopped and the pheasant was flapping in the road, badly injured but not dead. The other car reversed and ran over it again.

I was shocked and my dad said he was glad the other driver did that, he knew he should, it was the kindest thing, but he just couldn't put the car in reverse.

I was probably about 8yrs old and it's stuck with me.

The kindest things are often the toughest things.

Herring Gulls are on the red list in the UK, conservation wise. Pigeons are not!

I have had to dispatch many a pigeon - we live rurally and had a particularly carnivorous cat for years. It always seemed the kindest thing to do if the damage was severe. Weirdly, I was unable to do the same when Evil Cat got a rat - it was way beyond help, so I reversed the car over it instead.

I'd say that caring enough about the animal to alleviate its suffering indicates you probably aren't a psychopath.

It's worth checking that they're actually dying and not just stunned before doing this to birds (not sure about other animals). I watched a young seagull get hit by a car so I got out and trapped it. I took it to a vet and they called me the next day to say it was fine, just in shock, and asked if I wanted to release it myself. Also, birds can recover from things like broken wings if you take them to a vet or contact a wildlife rescue.

Just because it’s nature doesn’t really mean you should leave birds or any animal to suffer, just walk by.Personally l couldn’t just ignore.

Of course he did the right thing. Would you have preferred it to last longer, being pecked and eaten to death by seagulls? Naturally it’s not a nice thing to witness, but it saved the pigeon any more suffering.

I had to kill a pigeon once and it was hideous. Poor creature had broken its wings and was being attacked by neighbourhood cats. We have kites where we live that swoop within minutes of seeing something injured. I had to get the mallet from the garage that my dh keeps for such instances. It was bloody awful but I think I did the right thing.

Good on him, if it had of been in the road I could have run over it and it wouldn't have bothered me but I couldn't kill anything with my bare hands.

I often go back with the car if I drive past something that is half dead in the road. Obviously not a cat or dog! But squirrel, rat, rabbit, bird.

I saw something similar about a year ago where I think the pigeon had been hit by a car and broken its back...it could fly but it's legs wouldn't work...so watching it try to sit on the ground (fell over) or perch on a branch was horrible to see. I was debating about whether I should stop when a man who was nearer than me walked over to it while gently talking to it about how 'it would be ok little fella' and swiftly broke it's neck with his hands. I'm not sure I'd have done it so well, I was impressed by his kindness

Well, if you hit a kangaroo with your car, first thing you should always get the tyre iron out of the boot before you go to inspect it so you can do the necessary asap.

I have dispatched a few animals, mainly rabbits with mixy. It's not pleasant but it is kinder than seeing them suffer imo.
I don't enjoy it.

That's life! Sometimes we have to be cruel to be kind.
He Maybe would have been kinder to you to be a bit more discreet about it.

While it’s horrible he did put the pigeon out of pain and slow death.

Calling out was probably an error. It would have been quicker and kinder to let the seagulls finish the job.

So would my husband because he knows how to do it..

I'm sure they used to be much smaller as well?

There are different species of gull with quite a wide variety of sizes.

He did the right thing

Seagulls used to follow fishing boats eating the debris (fish guts etc thrown overboard) there are fewer boats to follow now so they go for people's chips. In the past few decades they have also started colonising inland lakes and ponds and roosting in city buildings so they have to scavenge what they can get. It's nature which naturally evolves.

@BobbyBiscuits no it's not I included the ops words I cut and pasted them...... Where is the word "bashed"?

@LigamentBandy it's what OP said he did.

He did the humane thing. And pigeons are a menace anyway. Flying vermin.

I once did this to a pigeon after I unavoidabley hit it with my car, it had a big open wound, wouldn't have been able to survive. I was in the middle of nowhere and I knew I couldn't just leave it to die a slow horrible death. I agonised over it for a while and I still think about it several years later so I hope I'm not a psychopath 😭