The Globe and Mail Yan Zhuang Published January 15, 2021 A racing pigeon sits on a rooftop Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021, in Melbourne, Australia, 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. Kevin Celli-Bird/The Associated Press The racing pigeon seemed to have travelled far, from Oregon, when it showed up weak and hungry in a backyard in a Melbourne suburb. Someone decided to name it Joe, after U.S. president-elect Joe Biden. But Australian officials, fearing the spread of germs from a foreign bird, would not bend the rules: The bird must die.