The Australian government has decided against euthanizing the “racing pigeon” which they initially deemed a biosecurity risk because they thought it had flown from the United States to Australia, according to the Associated Press.
The pigeon had reportedly landed in the backyard of a Melbourne, Australia resident after journeying 8,000 miles from Oregon to Australia, but Australian and American authorities determined on Friday that the identifying tag on the racing pigeon was fake, and that the pigeon is not a racing pigeon belonging to an owner in the United States, but a domestic Australian pigeon, according to the Associated Press.
The Australian Department of Agriculture, Water, and the Environment at the time released a statement on the incident, writing that the pigeon “poses a direct biosecurity risk to Australian bird life and our poultry industry,” and it is, therefore, “not permitted to remain in Australia,” because of the health and environmental risks it presents to Australian bird populations, according to the Associated Press.
But after this recent discovery that the band was a “fraudulent copy”, this same department, responsible for biosecurity in Australia, released another statement that “the department has concluded that Joe the Pigeon is highly likely to be Australian and does not present a biosecurity risk,” according to the Associated Press. The department is, therefore, not taking any action on the matter and not killing the bird. (RELATED: REPORT: Racing Pigeon Flies 8,000 Miles From America To Australia. Authorities Now Want To Kill It)
The Daily Caller has also confirmed through a spokeswoman at the American Racing Pigeon Union that the pigeon was thought to be registered with that the band was not a “legit AU band” and that the pigeon actually belongs to a “fancier in Australia.”
The acting Prime Minister of Australia reacted to the news about this purported racing pigeon by the name of Joe (after President-elect Joe Biden) stating that he hasn’t looked into the matter, but that the pigeon needs to meet the stringent Australian biosecurity standards in order to remain in the country.
Acting Prime Minister, Michael McCormack, on Joe the pigeon. @10NewsFirst pic.twitter.com/jcZjvmx4nx
— Chloe Bouras (@ChloeBouras) January 15, 2021
“I’m not aware of Joe’s plight, or flight, or future, happy to look into it and get back to you — good luck, Joe. But if Joe has come in a way that has not met our strict biosecurity measures then, bad luck, Joe. Either fly home or face the consequences,” the acting Australian prime minister told the local outlet 10 News First.
