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MELBOURNE, KOMPAS.com – The man in Australia described how he took care of a carrier pigeon that flew the distance between Sabang-Merauke PP, which was reportedly about to be killed.
The bird reportedly disappeared during a race in Oregon, USA, on October 29, 2020, before being found depleted in Melbourne, Australia, on December 26.
The bird covers a distance of approximately 14,480 kilometers, twice the distance from Sabang-Merauke by land and sea to 8,514 kilometers.
Also Read: Flying Sabang-Merauke PP Equivalent, Missing Pigeons in the US Found in Australia
Experts say the racing pigeon may have crossed the Pacific Ocean on a freighter.
But after the story went viral, the bird was hunted and intended to be killed because it was believed to carry the corona virus.
Kevin Celli-Bird claims to be the first to find the pigeon, which he named Joe, in honor of the president-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.
Celli-Bird cared for the bird and fed it clam biscuits until it was strong enough to flap its wings.
However, after his story went viral, Celli-Bird revealed that he was called by quarantine officers who ordered him to arrest Joe.
He said that, of course, it was impossible to catch the bird. Because he must have flown high after gaining strength.
Also read: Pigeons flying across the ocean from the US to Australia will be euthanized
“They said that if the bird was from the United States, they were afraid it was a carrier of some kind of bird disease,” he said.
“So they asked me if I could catch it. Of course not. Honestly, every time I got close to 20 inches, they would fly,” he continued.
The Australian Department of Agriculture said pigeons would not be able to live there because they could endanger their food and wild bird populations.
Reported Daily mail Thursday (1/14/2021), this is not the first time that the “Kangaroo Country” authority has been in the limelight for trying to kill animals.
In 2015, the government threatened to kill two Yorkshire Terriers owned by actor Johnny Depp and his ex-wife, Amber Heard.
Pistol and Boo, that was the name of the two canines, were about to be killed after Depp was accused of smuggling them to Australia.
Also read: The pigeons that Australia will kill their leg bracelets are fake, they are not safe from the US.
Celli-Bird said that Joe had come to his garden and of course it was an unusual sight for him.
That’s why when he saw Joe fall into place on Boxing Day, he immediately crushed the dry cookies and scattered them.
The next day, the bird was still in Celli-Bird’s shower, so he checked it because he saw that it was weak.
“He didn’t seem to be afraid of me and when I looked there was a blue armband on his leg. Obviously it belongs to someone so I caught it,” he said.
Celli-Bird said that he could no longer keep Joe close because the bird was getting stronger.
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He contacted the US Racing Pigeon Federation and obtained information that the bird was registered with the owner in Montgomery, Alabama.
The secretary of the Australian Pigeon Association, Brad Turner, said he had heard of a case of Chinese carrier pigeons arriving in his country aboard a cargo ship.
Turner agrees that Joe must be destroyed, because there is a fear that the American animal could transmit exotic diseases.
According to the records pigeonpedia.com, there was a case of pigeons that came from Arras, France, that landed in Saigon, Vietnam, in 1931.
The bird traveled a total distance of 11,600 kilometers and spent 24 days.
Also read: Belgian racing pigeons set a record with a fantastic selling price of IDR 26.8 billion
