Someone is impaling pigeons in downtown Seattle with metal darts, and the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is putting up $2,000 to help find out who.

Several Seattle residents have called PETA in the past two weeks to report seeing three injured pigeons fluttering around with needlelike projectiles — about 3 to 4 inches long — piercing their heads, said Tori Perry, cruelty case worker for the Norfolk, Virginia-based organization. The birds were spotted in the 1400 block of Third Avenue and at the corner of Third Avenue and Union Street, she added.

The darts were fired from a blow gun, lodging directly behind the birds' eyes without penetrating their brains, Perry said.

The longer the darts remain, the higher the chance for the injury to get worse and infection to set in, she said. The end result: "a very, very painful death," Perry said.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2009163/posts

I know pigeons are compared to rats/spread diseases and stuff. But take a look at that picture. Does that animal really deserve that kind of pain? What was he getting out of it?

It starts with pigeons and progresses, so they need to be stopped now. Besides I like pidgeons.

pidgeons?

My spelling reallllllly needs work.

that's ok...

I like pigeons too

Whoever did that deserves a good pummelling

maybe even more !

Uh oh, the squirrels are gonna be pissed, thier strongest allies are under attack. Buckle up people its going to be a bumpy summer!

I like the sound pigeons make. I hope they stick a needle in this persons eye when they find 'em.

People can be so unnecessarily cruel. Why would someone do that in the first place?
It makes me think of Stuart from mad TV. "Look what I can do" *sends dart through pigeons head*
Loser.

So what, there’s a pigeon shortage in Seattle?

How do pigeons spread disease?

^^^^

They spread disease in the form of their waste. They feed off of human detris and release it from their cloaca - a mix between urine and crap. Let's just say that even though you hear all these reports of humans being so terrible for the environment, we've actually benefited the environment as well. Animals who can adapt to our toxic lifestyles are thriving. Unfortunately because they thrive on toxic and live among us, they have an opportunity of making us sick from the very toxins we produce. Read this page on the New York Government website for more info (cause you can imagine their pigeons are mad nasty): http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/epi/epi-pigeon.shtml

On my island they are an invasive species that are threatening native and endemic birds by taking their nesting spaces and, in addition to eating human crap, compete with native and endemic birds for other resources on the isle. Due to the high humidity and constant warm weather, harmful fungal growth on pigeon droppings pose a hazard to people. As a matter of fact, there is a removal program and if I see a pigeon nest I am suppose to report it so that they can flush it out.

I don't agree with sticking pins through their heads. To me that just sounds like someone who is, based on case studies, practicing to be a future serial killer: http://www.criminalprofiling.ch/character.html. They target pigeons because since they lack access to a rural setting where animal killing can be done in privacy without reaction, they are left to hunt for animals people don't give a sh' about (if they did this to a puppy, this individual would probably be caught already). Pigeons may be on the forefront but I'm sure they're doing it to rats and gators in the sewer too. Most people would probably think good riddance. So, I hope they find this individual and get them help. Violence in return would be HUGELY hypocritical though, a sign of barbarous people treating barbarous individuals who are a product of a barbarous society.

That is so wrong...Here at the Jersey shore we have an abundance of pigeons and are used to them...At times they are a nusance and are quite dirty and very daring...We were on the beach one day, my daugter was eating a hot dog and a pigeon swooped down and took the hot dog right out of the bun Scared the hell out of me and her...

Never ceases to amaze me how cruel some humans can be...

This person... needs to stopped and 'put down' humanly...

Ya know I've been a member here for almost five years and I don't say much on these boards, but when some prick starts hurting defenseless animals just for the fun of it, I feel the need to speak up! (That exludes hunters of course lol. While I'm not a big fan of hunting, at least it's legal.) These pigeons don't deserve to be treated this way for some sick person's amusement! I hope they catch this person soon!

That's just sick...

The s**t has just hit the fan....