Imagine if someone invaded
your home, tore you away from your family, drove you hundreds of miles away and
then let you go. You don't know where you are, and you're desperate to get back
home. You're surrounded by hundreds of strangers, all as confused as you are.
You're scared and hungry and must fight to stay alive through all weather
extremes. Some of the others succumb to exhaustion or starvation. Some are
killed by hunters or predators. It may sound like a plot twist from The Hunger Games, but it's real.
This is the fate of
birds who are forced to fly for their lives in the abusive and often illegal
pastime known as pigeon racing . That the victims of this cruel
sport are animals and not humans should not make their suffering any less
appalling.
PETA recently completed a 15-month undercover investigation into some of the largest pigeon-racing
operations in the U.S. PETA's investigators documented massive casualties of birds
during races and training, rampant "culling" (killing), abusive
training and racing methods and illegal interstate gambling.
In many of the
races--which can be up to 600 miles long--more than 60 percent of the birds become
lost or die along the way. Because these birds were raised in captivity and
cannot fend for themselves in the wild, those who don't make it home will
likely starve to death. Pigeon racers even have a name for races that are particularly
lethal: "smash races."
During one race in Queens,
for example, only four out of 213 birds ever returned. Out of nearly 2,300 baby
birds shipped to the Phoenix area for training for the 2011 American Racing
Pigeon Union Convention Race, only 827 survived to race day. Of those, only 487
birds had completed the 325-mile race by nightfall.
Pigeons are among
the most maligned urban wildlife, yet they are complex and fascinating birds . Their hearing and vision are
both excellent and have been used to save lives in wartime and to help find
sailors lost at sea.
A study released in
December showed that pigeons can learn abstract numerical rules--something that
until recently, we thought only humans and other primates could do.
They are also loyal
mates and doting parents. Both parents share in the care and nurturing of their
hatchlings. Pigeon racers exploit these qualities by separating birds from their
mates and babies so that they will race their hearts out, frantic to get home. After
the racing season is over, the babies--no longer of any use to the racers--are often
killed.
One racer told PETA's investigators that the "first
thing you have to learn" in pigeon racing is "how to kill pigeons."
Another recommended killing these gentle birds by drowning them, pulling their
heads off or squeezing their breasts so tightly that they suffocate. Any bird
who isn't considered fast enough or isn't wanted for breeding is killed.
Like other forms of
animal exploitation, pigeon racing is driven by money. PETA penetrated racing
organizations in which a quarter of a million dollars is bet on a single race.
Pigeon racing generates an estimated $15 million a year in illegal gambling
proceeds and involves felony gambling, racketeering and tax evasion. Not
surprisingly, the high stakes lead to cheating. Some racers administer
performance-enhancing drugs--including steroids and morphine--to their birds. One
racer even admitted that he kills hawks--federally protected birds--because they
prey upon his pigeons and then disposes of their bodies.
Pigeons are rock
doves, a symbol of peace, and they deserve to be left in peace . PETA is calling on Attorney
General Eric Holder to investigate and prosecute unlawful pigeon-racing
operations. The rest of us should shun this cruel sport . Animals should not have to pay
with their lives for someone's sick idea of entertainment.
Paula
Moore is a senior writer for the PETA
Foundation , 501 Front St., Norfolk, VA
23510; http://www.peta.org/ .