CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A pigeon that Australia declared a biosecurity risk has received a reprieve after a U.S. bird organization declared its identifying leg band was fake.
The band suggested the bird found in a Melbourne backyard on Dec. 26 was a racing pigeon that had left Oregon, 8,000 miles away, two months earlier.
On that basis, Australian authorities on Thursday said they considered the bird a disease risk and planned to kill it. But Deone Roberts with the Oklahoma-based American Racing Pigeon Union, said on Friday the band was fake.
“The bird band in Australia is counterfeit and not traceable,” Roberts said. “They do not need to kill him.”
Australia’s Agriculture Department, which is responsible for biosecurity, agreed that the pigeon dubbed Joe, after U.S. President-elect Joe Biden, was wearing a “fraudulent copy” leg band.
“Following an investigation, the department has concluded that Joe the Pigeon is highly likely to be Australian and does not present a biosecurity risk,” it said in a statement.
The department said it will take no further action.