14 DAY TRIAL // An undercover investigation carried out by members of green-oriented group PETA has revealed that pigeon racing leads to the death of hundreds of such birds on a yearly basis. Because of this, the organization pleads that Queen Elizabeth no longer support this cruel sport.
Although most of these birds allegedly die as a result of exhaustion or because of run-ins with predators, PETA says that some are killed by their owners simply because they fail to perform well enough.
Members of said organization also say that, whereas run-off-the-mill pigeons can live to reach the age of 20, racing birds more often than not pass away during their first year of life.
Others do manage to survive a tad longer, but none on them ever gets to be older than 4 years.
The official website for PETA says that, all things considered, the cruelest thing that racing pigeon owners make their birds do is fly across the English Channel, also known as The Pigeon Graveyard amongst racers.
By the looks of it, an average of 75% of the birds made to cross the English Channel during such races never make it back to their owners.
It is believed that most of these birds simply crash into the sea as a result of their being too exhausted to keep flying.
PETA hopes that, should Queen Elizabeth, who also happens to be the patron of The Royal Pigeon Racing Association, agree to no longer enter her birds in such competitions and even pull her support for this sport altogether, countless birds will be saved.
As PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk put it, “By patronizing pigeon racing, The Queen is supporting what PETA's investigation has revealed to be a seedy culture of deliberate cruelty to birds.”
“We ask Her Majesty to set an example by withdrawing her support from this greed-driven, dirty, and deadly pastime,” Ingrid E. Newkirk further added.