NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK– Mayor Bill de Blasio has warned the city’s large pigeon population that he has zero tolerance for any bird who breaks his coronavirus social distancing regulations after he was forced to send in police to disperse a large flock of pigeons gathered on a sidewalk.
The Democrat mayor lashed out against pigeon residents on Twitter after he was forced to personally oversee the dispersal of hundreds of lawbreaking birds, saying the fowl gathering was “absolutely unacceptable and disgusting” and if it happens again the birds will face possible prison time.
“My message to the pigeon community is this simple,” de Blasio wrote on Twitter while police beat and arrested rogue pigeons in an effort to keep the city safe. “The time for warnings has passed. I have instructed the NYPD to proceed immediately to arrest birds who gather in large flocks.”
De Blasio went on to say that all pigeons who are arrested for breaking his social distancing rules will have a leg band bracelet attached to their foot and if caught again being within six feet of another bird will be shot on sight.
“This is my final warning,” de Blasio wrote in a caption under a photo of his newly formed Police Pigeon Unit. “There will be no more pigeon gatherings during this pandemic, and this will not be tolerated so long as I am trying to model the city of New York after the great country of China.”
The mayor’s tough stance on these birds has caused a rise in anti-pigeon sentiment, with some accusing pigeons of purposely spreading the COVID-19 virus as a way to get payback against the city’s humans for treating them like second-class citizens.
Members of the pigeon community have blasted de Blasio for singling them out, asking him if he would target other animal minorities, such as squirrels or seagulls, in the same manner.
