Joe the pigeon: Australia's most wanted bird spared death sentence

In a bizarre turn of events, a pigeon will be spared from death row after quarantine authorities concluded the bird is most likely to be Australian.

The pigeon's leg band was registered in Alabama but to a different kind of pigeon. Source: AP

The Australian government will not euthanise a pigeon after an investigation found it the bird was "highly likely to be Australian and does not present a biosecurity risk."

"The department is satisfied that the bird’s leg band is a fraudulent copy of a legitimate leg band," a spokesperson from the Department of Agriculture said.

"No further action will be taken by the department in relation to this matter." 

The statement came late on Friday night after a US pigeon racing union claimed the racing band on the bird’s leg was a counterfeit and not American as previously thought.

The racing tag attached to the bird’s leg was originally traced back to the American Racing Pigeon Union, with the pigeon registered to someone in Montgomery, Alabama.

Joe, the racing pigeon, sits on a rooftop, Jan. 12, 2021, in Melbourne. Source: AP

The American Pigeon Racing Union wrote on Facebook that the pigeon “sports a counterfeit band and need not be destroyed per biosecurity measures.” 

“What a relief to know that Joe the Pigeon found in Australia is not a genuine AU band,” the union wrote.

“The true band is in the U.S, worn by a Blue Bar, not the pigeon featured in news photos about Joe,” they added.

It was earlier reported that the pigeon had travelled over 13,000 kilometres from the US state of Oregon to Melbourne after going missing in October.

The bird was previously thought to have gone missing before arriving in the backyard of Melbourne resident, Kevin Celli-Bird, two months later, on Boxing Day.

Mr Celli-Bird said he discovered a blue tag around the ankle of the pigeon, who looked to be in poor shape, which led him to believe the bird was an international visitor. 

The Melbourne resident named Joe after the US president-elect and said quarantine authorities had called to ask him to catch the bird and were considering employing a professional bird catcher. 

Mr Celli-Bird said he'd been feeding the pigeon since he first spotted it in his fountain looking rather “emaciated”.

“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 told AP.

Australia’s pursuit of the pigeon captured the attention of global headlines, with BBC, Al Jazeera and the Washington Post all penning stories about the remarkable bird.

A petition titled ‘Save Joe the pigeon’ had attracted more than 500 signatures as of 10am on Friday morning.

Plans to execute the bird also stirred outrage on social media, with many users rallying to #SaveJoe.

“If they kill the pigeon then President Biden must declare war on day one,” one person wrote on Twitter.

“where is this bird? i need live footage. i need to know he's ok,” another added.

“wtf I go out for three hours and come back to the government murdering a pigeon,” tweeted another user.

The Feed has contacted the American Racing Pigeon Union for comment.