Fake US leg band may save pigeon from getting killed in Australia over quarantine rules Fake US leg band may save pigeon from getting killed in Australia over quarantine rules
The bird was last seen two months ago in the US state of Oregon and was found in the backyard of Melbourne resident Kevin Celli-Bird on December 26. Even though Australia planned to kill it, the fake leg band might give the bird another chance at life.
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Joe, the pigeon. (Photo: AP)
A pigeon named Joe showed up in Australia flying all the way from the US across the Pacific Ocean and was at the risk of being killed in the country for violating its strict quarantine rules. However, Joe might just be saved after his leg band was found to be fake.
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Bird Named Joe: Why a Pigeon that Narrowly Escaped Death in Australia is Making News
The racing pigeon, first spotted in late Dec. 2020, appears to have made an extraordinary 13,000-kilometer (8,000-mile) Pacific Ocean crossing from the United States to Australia.
(Photo: Channel 9 via AP)
Australia had declared Joe- the pigeon- a biodecurity threat and had ordered its killing, but a last minute revelation saved its life.
Last Updated:January 15, 2021, 19:19 IST
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The pigeon that faced death sentence in Australia after being declared a biosecurity risk got a reprieve after a US bird organization declared its identifying leg band was fake. The band suggested the bird found in a Melbourne backyard on December 26 was a racing pigeon that had left the US state of Oregon, 3,000 kilometers (8,000 miles) away, two months earlier.