The Australian government is trying to capture and euthanize a pigeon that flew from Oregon to Australia, according to the Associated Press.
The racing pigeon, named Joe after the U.S. President-elect Joe Biden, flew 8,000 miles from Oregon to Australia across the Pacific Ocean and landed in the backyard of Melbourne, Australia resident Kevin Celli-Bird on December 26, according to the Associated Press.
A racing pigeon that survived an exhausting 8,000-mile journey across the Pacific Ocean from the U.S. to Australia is expected to be killed because quarantine authorities say it poses a disease risk. https://t.co/tHS6mOBF8t
— The Associated Press (@AP) January 14, 2021
“It rocked up at our place on Boxing Day. I’ve got a fountain in the backyard and it was having a drink and a wash. He was pretty emaciated so I crushed up a dry biscuit and left it out there for him,” Celli-Bird said about the incident, per the Associated Press.
Authorities from the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Services asked Celli-Bird to capture the pigeon on Thursday, according to the Associated Press. They are also considering hiring a contract bird catcher to locate the pigeon so that it can be euthanized because it is considered a health and quarantine risk to the Australian population. (RELATED: Pigeon Sells For Almost $2 Million After Intense Bidding Feud)
The Australian Department of Agriculture, Water, and the Environment said in a statement that the pigeon “poses a direct biosecurity risk to Australian bird life and our poultry industry,” and as such, it is “not permitted to remain in Australia” because of the risks it would pose to food security and Australian bird populations, according to the Associated Press.
Celli-Bird said that the pigeon is was a racing pigeon that disappeared from a race in Oregon on October 29 and belongs to an owner in Montgomery, Alabama, based on confirmation from the American Racing Pigeon Union, according to the Associated Press.
The Daily Caller has reached out to the American Racing Pigeon Union for further comment on this incident.