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Pigeons: Good Neighbors
Posted by Ingrid Newkirk at 1:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (14)
The photo on the cover of PETA's recent Annual Review shows how loving and devoted pigeons are. In fact, they could teach the "Moral Majority" a thing or two: They mate for life, and both parents share in the care and nurturing of their young. It's not their fault that they were stolen from the cliffs where they lived peacefully and plunked down in the U.S. They are symbols of peace, after all.
Pigeons are among the most maligned urban wildlife, and it's hard to understand why anyone can find fault with these beautiful, fascinating birds. People trap them, poison them, and even force them into endurance races so that the humans involved can win prizes and purses—as Mike Tyson will showcase in an upcoming TV program on Animal Planet called Taking on Tyson.
Pigeons are smart and have complex social relationships. Their hearing and vision are both excellent, but they still flock in large numbers to help protect each other from predators. They are completely innocuous and enrich our mornings with their gentle cooing.
Pigeons who are penned up for racing—on rooftops or in backyards coops, as viewers will witness in Taking on Tyson—are deliberately put at risk. Taken hundreds of miles from their pens, the birds often struggle to survive in all weather extremes and often fall prey to both wild predators, such as raptors, and cruel humans who shoot or trap them. I once found a racing pigeon who had crossed the English Channel in a fierce storm, exhausted, no longer able to fly, and almost frozen on the ground. He made it to land from his release point, but others can only have perished, never to see their mates again. And for what? For wagers, that's what, and for trophies. Bets are usually placed on the outcome, which not only violates many state gambling laws but also can mean a grim fate for "losers." Since pride and profit are often the compelling factors in pigeon racing, owners have little use for pigeons who can't or don't win. "Wring his neck" is what people so often hear when they report a starving or injured banded pigeon. So much for love and respect.
PETA has filed a complaint with the district attorney in Brooklyn, where the show Taking on Tyson will be filmed, asserting that Tyson's salary from the show is itself a monetary reward derived from racing animals, which is illegal in New York (with the exception of horse racing).
Pigeons' navigational abilities, which are largely dependent on keen vision and an exceptional memory for topographic details, are legendary. A 10-year study of pigeon flight patterns conducted at Oxford University found that the birds rely more on their knowledge of human transport routes than on their internal magnetic compasses. One behavioral psychologist who studies pigeons remarked, "Pigeons commit new images to memory at lightning speed. … They organize images of things into the same logical categories that human beings use when we conceptualize."
When not being used in races, pigeons live cooped up, sometimes hundreds in just a few barren cages. Instead of riding the air currents for pleasure or exploring grassy areas for morsels of food, birds are relegated to small wire-mesh worlds that may afford them little protection from the elements. Birds are given plastic eggs, a technique that tricks female birds into believing that they are nurturing an unborn chick, on the theory that a distressed bird will race her heart out, going that much faster to get home to her egg.
There's little doubt that Tyson's show will have a 101 Dalmatians-type effect. Many of the boxer's fans will casually acquire birds and then quickly tire of the idea. Animal Planet will do viewers and pigeons a terrible disservice if it airs this show, as it will sentence countless birds to a life in a cramped cage and ultimately a bad end.
Pigeons bring beauty to our concrete jungles and demand so little in return. They deserve to be left in peace. Please let your thoughts be known. Contact Animal Planet by filling out a form online at http://extweb.discovery.com/viewerrelations or by contacting Melissa Berry, the company's publicity manager, at 240-662-2946 or melissa_berry@discovery.com.
Posted to Family & Friends | Posted to Tags: Discovery Channel, Ingrid Newkirk, Mike Tyson, pigeons
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Miro says...
March 29th, 2010, 3:45 pm
Just sent my comment to Animal Planet. Hopefully someone would spend a minute to consider my suggestion to stop the show from airing.
colleen says...
April 1st, 2010, 5:03 pm
So glad to see this article. I love pigeons and have always marveled at the hate talk people spew regarding them. Thank you for bringing this to light! Cheers
Laura Frisk says...
April 1st, 2010, 5:40 pm
I had no idea this show was going to air. Thanks for the info Ingrid. I emailed my comment to Animal Planet immediately after reading your blog!
Christina says...
April 1st, 2010, 11:05 pm
I always remember a pigeon brought in by someone to the vet's where I worked, injured from being attacked by other birds. The vet examined and treated him or her while I assisted, then left the room with me and the bird alone. Was he or she ever intelligent! The doctor had called a sanctuary where the bird would go. I'll never forget you, beautiful bird! Thanks for the honor. I'll stick to basic cable tv that doesn't air animal planet and send the savings on to your kind!
Gail Richardson says...
April 2nd, 2010, 9:50 pm
I just sent my comment to them too! I really hope they will actually decide not to air it from the messages we send.
Andrea says...
April 3rd, 2010, 12:27 am
When we were fixing our roof, pigeons made homes in the openings. One of the baby's fell out of one of the nests and when we tried to put it back it fell out again and again. We took it in and fed it baby bird formula. Once it was strong enough we let him go. Anyway, we waited for warm weather and closed off the openings. Some came back this spring. They were born here and this is their home. People tell me they are rats with wings. I tell them they wish they were as smart as these birds. They will always have a home and food here.
M* says...
April 3rd, 2010, 6:12 am
They are such gentle birds…Thank You for the chance to stop this CRUEL treatment…I sent a Personal Letter sent to Melissa…Hope she cares *
JennyNZ says...
April 4th, 2010, 12:06 am
I love pigeons too – infact "Pigeon" is the affectionate name my husband calls me! We live in Napier NZ, a city of about 60,000, and love seeing large flocks of wild pigeons flying overhead along our streams, palm-tree lined main streets & roosting in the cliff-face of Bluff Hill.
Last year four pairs of pigeons moved into the Phoenix Plam next door, and every morning & evening we enjoy their peaceful cooing. I hope Animal Planet gets the message from PETA supporters loud & clear – good on you for highlighting the un-natural lifestyle of Homing Pigeons kept for racing.
TATSCRU LOFT says...
April 8th, 2010, 1:29 pm
There are not many sports that can bring you closer to God and nature. The pigeon/dove position in the bible and human history is as close as any and in recorded times. Their benefit and usefulness to society has been reduced and now some wish it to disappear altogether. The sport has given me many hours, many years of entertainment and appreciation for God/nature and the way it operates.
Some orgs like PETA want to rewrite the rules of nature……..but it is a misguided dream to think that nature can be changed that much.
Sherif Hamdy says...
April 8th, 2010, 7:42 pm
In reply to persons who argue that the pigeons have brought joy to them. Point taken but I think the writer's point is being missed. It is not about what brings you joy, its about what is right for the animals. They are not ours to use for silly races which by the way are not a part of what pigeons do according to the rules of nature.
Judith Howard says...
April 14th, 2010, 9:14 am
Thanks for a great story on this most misunderstood bird. A male and female decided one year to make our apartment balcony their nesting place and laid an egg on the top of a container.
My husband and I after having discovered the deed, decided to let them stay until their new chick was hatched. It was an incredible process to watch. Pigeons are the most amazing parents. They eventually flew off never to return but the experience is one that we will never forget.
I have rescued injured pigeons and I would do it again. They are the sweetest and gentlest birds. Even when I was very carefully handling taking an injured pigeon to the widlife center for help, it never acted aggressively.
Lily says...
April 18th, 2010, 10:42 am
I posted this once and you must have inadvertently removed it, as I'm sure you don't only keep posts that support your position….
“I wish I had the time to enumerate all of the falsehoods that were made in the article, however, that would take far too much time and space. I don't race pigeons personally, but am acquainted with people who do so.
First, the cramped conditions that were mentioned. Completely and utterly untrue. These birds are treated like KINGS. They have entire buildings devoted to them, with relatively few birds housed within. It would be similar to 2 people living in a 3000 sq. ft. home. LOTS of room.
Second, the birds are fed the very best food that is available. They aren't fed scraps or inferior food. It's the best that can be found. They are cared for and indulged just you would care for and indulge a loved member of your family.
Third, is the claim that if they lose a race they are killed. These birds are valued – highly valued – not to mention loved by their owners. You should see these men and women and how dearly they handle their birds. I've seen them cry because a hawk killed their friend.
I've also see the pigeons welcome their owners with cooing and strutting. These birds love the people just as the people love them.
These birds aren't forced to fly, they LOVE to fly. You should be able to see them tear through the sky. They will fly for hour upon hour, I sit and watch them out my window and everyday thank God that I am able to see them. These are different from the pigeons you see on the street who will fly for about 50 feet and then land. These birds are healthy and hearty. They fly because they love it.
People who think that the best way is only their way are wrong and hurting not only the people who love the birds, but the birds themselves who also love their owners.”
glen says...
May 28th, 2010, 11:03 am
I raise racing Pigeons but dont race in a club. i train my birds out to 100 miles sometimes more because these birds arent like a wild Pigeons , this breed was bred to easily fly hundreds of miles easily. so you peta people want me to stop a very enjoyable hobby ive been enjoying for over 40 years. Alot of what you are saying about the Pigeon Racing sport is VERY Overexagerated. Your Cause is Blowing Up This very rewarding Sport. my birds always make it back and the late coming birds dont get a Rung Neck Cmon.are you kidding me. Do yourselves a favor and do a little researh on the Sport, That by the way is very rewarding to care for them daily on a regular basis and they love you back. Stop exagerating the reality of this, because you found a couple DirtBags harming their birds. You may as well find any animal and start stories for that breed too. {Most} Racing Lofts are designed for total comfort for the pigeons and the birds are SPECIFICALLY never Overcrowded, for the Perfect Health we keep our Birds in. We are Not tortouring or birds Thats Rediculous we love animals just like you guys do "PROBABLY MORE" Especially The Birds- GlenCom
Ray Comeau says...
June 4th, 2010, 5:39 pm
Glen Com is my son and we both have appreciated what a person gets out of having homing pigeons, Any person that says there a bad thing is completely wrong, First of all during a war they saved many lives by carrying messages from the battlefields, they brought joy of having a time to care for something not human. They can go hundreds of miles without a road map to read. They do there best to win but if not there still welcomed back, Those people that do wring the necks are really not true sportsmen but money hungry greedy idividuals who like to make money. Let some of them fly a hundred miles and return home to a caring person. Those that say there crowded are full of bull, Most serious pigeon people care and provide food and shelter for there birds
A youngster interested in having racing pigeons will most likely never have problems with the law. There are more than racing pigeons also . Some are tumblers, some are special breeds with special. Some wild pigeons are a pest but only because people hate them rather than caring for them. My son Glen and I enjoyed some of our days with his pigeons and it was an adventure to see them come back from a race safely. Wanna talk about cruelty then those jerks that the kick out of fighting roosters make me sick and that is true cruelty. Pigeon keepers are not cruel to there birds or else they woukd never have had them .