A racing pigeon may be put to death after surviving a 8,000-mile journey from the United States to Australia, according to KING 5.
On December 26, 2020, Kevin Celli-Bird said he found a tired bird in his Melbourne backyard. “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.
He later found out it disappeared from a race in Oregon on October 29. Reporters said Melbourne resident named the pigeon "Joe" after the U.S. president-elect.
It turns out Joe hitched a ride on a cargo ship across the Pacific Ocean and registered to an owner in Montgomery, Alabama, journalists learned. Once the Australian media and authorities picked up on the story, the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service made a call to Celli-Bird Thursday (January 14). They asked him to catch the bird.
“They say if it is from America, then they’re concerned about bird diseases,” Celli-Bird said. “They wanted to know if I could help them out. I said, ’To be honest, I can’t catch it. I can get within 500 mil (millimeters or 20 inches) of it and then it moves.’” As a result, quarantine authorities are considering contracting a professional bird catcher.
According to the Agriculture Department in Australia, Joe was "not permitted to remain in Australia" and poses a "direct biosecurity risk to Australian bird life and our poultry industry."
Celli-Bird tried contacting the original owner, but was unsuccessful. Joe, for right now, spends his days in the Melborune man's backyard. Celli-Bird has been feeding it pigeon food.
“I think that he just decided that since I’ve given him some food and he’s got a spot to drink, that’s home,” he said.
Photo: Getty Images