Fake Leg Tag: Joe the Racing Pigeon Might Be Spared From Death

Joe the racing pigeon was set to be put down in Australia after breaking quarantine laws in the country and becoming a biosecurity hazard. According to a previous report from Science Times, he flew across the Pacific Ocean from the US to Australia wearing a leg tag, suggesting he is a racing pigeon from America.

Recap on Joe the Racing Pigeon

When Melbourne resident Celli-Bird first found Joe, it looked very exhausted from a long flight. The bird's presence in the country got the attention of the media and the notoriously strict Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service, who believed that Joe the racing pigeon was a biosecurity hazard if he indeed came from the US.

The quarantine authorities said that Joe violated the quarantine laws and so they decided to put down the bird. But in some twist of fate, authorities confirmed that Joe the racing pigeon is wearing a fake leg tag usually found worn by racing pigeons in the US.

RELATED ARTICLE: Joe the Racing Pigeon Who Traveled From US to Australia Now Faces Death Penalty

Joe Gets Might Be Spared From Death

Joe the racing pigeon might be spared from death after the Oklahoma-based American Racing Pigeon Union sport development manager said that Joe is not an American pigeon. According to the Associated Press, Joe is a hometown pigeon wearing a fake leg tag.

Manager Dione Roberts told the AP that the leg tag worn by Joe is counterfeit and untraceable, which means quarantine authorities may not need to kill the bird.

"If Joe has come in a way that has not met our strict biosecurity measures then bad luck Joe. Either fly home or face the consequences," said Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack.

Joe's Misidentification

Joe is a case of mistaken identity, in which his leg tag suggests that he escaped from the Oregon race last October 2020. However, the tag is only a copy of the American owner of the band with the same number and symbol which was a blue racing pigeon, Live Science reported.

In clarification, Lucas Cramer, the owner of the Crooked River Challenge race in Oregon, told AP that Joe is not a racing pigeon at all. He added that the real racing pigeon wearing the original leg tag was not valuable at all with no stellar racing record, who flew off without finishing the race.

According to Lars Scott who works at the bird rescue Pigeon Rescue Melbourne, pigeon owners in Melbourne usually buy American leg tags to keep in track with their pigeons.

Joe instantly became a celebrity after his misidentification that could have led to his death. Australians have petitioned to spare the pigeon's life as the country's acting Prime Minister adopts a "no mercy" position on Joe's case.

But since his true identity has been revealed, Joe would be allowed to live out his natural life in Melbourne. Cell-Bird said that Joe has been spending his time sitting on his back pergola with a native dove.

ALSO READ: Meet New Kim: The Pigeon Sold at a Whopping $1.9 Million

Check out more news and information on the Birds and Racing Pigeon in Science Times.