‘Quite simply, it is an act of cruelty and is no way to celebrate the gender of your baby.’
Parents-to-be have been warned about a new gender reveal fad that is harming birds.
Some have been using pigeons dyed pink or blue to announce their baby’s sex. But an animal hospital has said the craze might have contributed to the death of one last month.
Leicestershire Wildlife Hospital shared a photo of an injured pigeon on Facebook, with a spokesperson urging people to ‘think before you follow these social media trends’.
They said the pigeon ‘was most likely used for a gender reveal party’, adding that the ‘absolutely shocking’ stunt has now become ‘a horrendous trend’.
‘We are urging you to spread the message about the effects that this can have,’ the spokesperson said.
‘Quite simply, it is an act of cruelty and is no way to celebrate the gender of your baby.’
Exmouth farmers Andrew and Kate Lamont shared a photo of a pink pigeon they spotted on their property in a local Facebook group.
The hospital revealed the pigeon ‘sadly didn’t make it’, having gone without food or water and been seriously wounded by a cat.
An RSPCA spokesperson said: ‘The majority of us want the best for animals, and to treat them with respect – so intentionally painting a pigeon’s feathers is unacceptable as it could cause health problems, impair their ability to fly and make them more vulnerable to predators.
‘In addition, dye and paints can be toxic to birds and other animals, and they would be likely to try to clean any such substance from their coat or feathers which could result in them swallowing it.
‘From time to time we do hear anecdotally about incidents involving animals being affected in this way – and sadly we fear social media trends could be fuelling this.’
In the US last year, a pigeon named Flamingo that had been dyed pink died after being found wandering through Manhattan’s Madison Square Park.
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