Fraudulent racing pigeon spared by Australian authorities

Caden Herron - Junior | News

Pigeon racing isn’t a common topic brought up in conversation, but it is surprisingly a popular event. During these races, specially trained ‘homing’ pigeons are released to travel back to their homes over a designated distance.

In Dec. 2020, a US racing pigeon supposedly underwent an incredible 8,000 mile journey across the Pacific Ocean to Australia, where it was planned to be euthanized.

The pigeon was originally found in the backyard of Kevin Celli-Bird on Dec. 26. Joe, as it was named by Celli-Bird, was suspected of riding a cargo ship across the Pacific after it disappeared from a race in Oregon in late October of 2020.

Eventually, Australian quarantine authorities learned of the bird's existence and deemed it a threat to other native bird populations. These authorities stated that the bird would not be permitted to stay in the country because it carried the risk of exotic diseases.

"It poses a direct biosecurity risk to Australian bird life and our poultry industry," said a spokesperson for the Agriculture Department of Australia.

However, many protested against the decision to kill the bird. Martin Foley, health minister for Victoria, the state where Joe is living, had called for the federal government to disregard the bird despite the risks it posed. Celli-Bird, the man who discovered Joe, also stated that he would rather see the bird spared, since he had helped it to recover from the exhaustion of the journey.

These sentiments towards the bird didn’t look like they were going to change the authorities’ decision until new information regarding the origins of the bird were uncovered. Deone Roberts, sport development manager of the American Racing Pigeon Union, stated that the blue band around Joe’s foot used to identify him as a racing pigeon was in fact fraudulent. It turns out that this pigeon had never made the 8,000 mile journey across the Pacific in the first place.

The number on the band around the pigeon’s foot used for identification belonged to that of a different pigeon in the United States, meaning that the band was a counterfeit. Australia’s Agriculture Department confirmed this information and ceased efforts to eliminate the bird.

“Following an investigation, the department has concluded that Joe the Pigeon is highly likely to be Australian and does not present a biosecurity risk,” the Department said in a statement.

This information came as a relief to those who advocated for the bird’s safety. Many were happy to see that the bird would be spared and live an undisturbed life.

“I thought this is just a feel-good story and now you guys want to put this pigeon away and I thought it’s not on, you know, you can’t do that, there has got to be other options,” said Celli-Bird.

Joe now lives without the looming threat of euthanization over his head, and continues to visit Celli-Bird’s bird bath almost every other day.