Police in India have released a pigeon that was held for eight months on suspicion of spying for China, Sky News reported.
Police suspect the pigeon, which was seized near the Mumbai port in May last year, was involved in espionage as it had two rings on its feet with writing that “looked Chinese”.
Police released the pigeon this week and released it back into the wild, Indian media reported.
The pigeon spent eight months in captivity at an animal hospital in Mumbai before it was found that the bird had flown to India from Taiwan.
Pigeons have been used for spying throughout history, and British forces in World War I and World War II used these birds to carry messages.
Police in India have detained pigeons before.
In 2020, a Pakistani fisherman’s pigeon was caught in Kashmir, and investigation revealed that the bird was not intended for espionage, but simply flew across the border between the two countries.
In 2016, Indian police detained another pigeon after it was allegedly found with a note threatening Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Illustrative Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/brown-and-white-flying-bird-on-blue-sky-36715/
