A pink pigeon has been taken into care by a wildlife rehabilitation centre after being dyed. The domestic pigeon was caught by Wild Bird Fund after it was left malnourished. The charity said that “pigeons come in many different colours, but pink isn’t one of them”. They said: “This king pigeon was deliberately dyed and released. As a domestic bird unable to find food in the wild, fly well or escape predators, this poor kid had it bad enough before being dyed.
“He’s also barely more than a fledgling but shows signs of longterm malnutrition. Luckily a kind person rescued him in Madison Square Park, and he’s now safely in care.”
Twitter users were shocked by the treatment of the bird.
Muffy Styler wrote: “Who does this? So sad that people would do this but so happy he is at Wild Bird Fund.”
Patty Ludwig added: “Honestly, how can humans be so cruel? Thank you for caring for him.”
Elana Keil said: “It is important to share these stories to raise awareness. It is astounding how mean and cruel some people can be.”
While another defended the move. David Whitefeld said: “When I was a kid, they used to dye young chicks with food coloring around Easter and give them away at drive-in theaters. They would molt and be fine.”
Responding to a question on Twitter, Wild Bird Fund said a “‘gender reveal’ is one theory growing in popularity” as to why the bird was dyed pink.
They said they will try a few baths to wash out the pink color, but if that doesn’t work, the pigeon should eventually molt the dyed feathers.
“She shouldn’t be on the streets, she has no survival skills, she relies on people for everything,” Wild Bird Fund’s Antonio Sanchez told ABC7.
“I don’t think we’ve ever really had a pink pigeon come into the clinic, so we were all pretty surprised.
“We were honestly disgusted that someone would do this.”
Wild Bird Fund also reminded New Yorkers to “please never release a domestic bird to the wild” as they “will die of starvation or predation”.
Gender reveal parties are a trend that gained popularity over the last decade, where expecting couples gather loved ones to reveal the sex of their unborn child, usually through extravagant means involving the colour blue or pink.
However, they are often mocked, and at times can be dangerous when involving wildlife or explosives.
In February 2021, a father-to be was killed when a device they were preparing for a gender-reveal party exploded in a garage in the Catskills in New York.
Christopher Pekny, 28, died and his brother Michael Pekny, 27, was hurt, officials said.
And in California, the 2020 El Dorado wildfire was sparked by a pyrotechnic device at a gender reveal party.
