SYDNEY (AUSTRALIA) – A pigeon, which was slated to be put down in Australia after it apparently flew across the pacific, was pardoned on Friday. This came after a tag on its leg identifying it as belonging to a US bird organisation was found to be a fake.
The tag gave hints that it had lost its way during a race in Alabama in the US and flew more than 13,000 kilometres (8,000 miles) to Melbourne, where it fell foul of strict quarantine rules which prohibit bringing in live animals or birds.
When the Twitter campaign seeking pardon for the bird christened Joe gained momentum, the American Racing Pigeon Union declared the ID band a fake.
“The pigeon found in Australia sports a counterfeit band and need not be destroyed per biosecurity measures, because his actual home is in Australia,” it said in a post on Facebook.
Melbourne resident Kevin Celli-Bird had found the bird with its tag in his garden on December 26.
“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,” Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack said on Friday.
Later during the day, there was a reprieve from the Department of Agriculture. “Following an investigation, the department has concluded that Joe the Pigeon is highly likely to be Australian…. No further action will be taken … in relation to this matter.”