Petition update on 18 June 2021.
Pigeons served during both World Wars, and helped save countless human lives. Despite this, they are hardly mentioned on Remembrance Day.
Cher Ami, a homing pigeon during World War 1, achieved fame by delivering a message from an encircled battalion. She flew with a message on her leg and reached her loft, 25 miles to the rear, in 25 minutes. Her message saved the lives of 194 soldiers. She had been shot through the breast, blinded in one eye, and had a leg hanging off by a tendon.
Cher Ami became the hero of the 77th Infantry Division. Army medics were unable to save her leg, so they carved a wooden one for her. When she had recovered, she was put on a boat to the United States.
She was awarded the Croix de Guerre Medal with a palm Oak Leaf Cluster for her heroic service in delivering 12 important messages in Verdun. She died at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, on June 13, 1919 from the wounds received in battle and was later inducted into the Racing Pigeon Hall of Fame in 1931. She also received a gold medal from the Organised Bodies of American Racing Pigeon Fanciers in recognition of her service during World War I.
The man responsible for training and caring for the pigeon in the signal corps, Enoch Clifford Swain, was awarded for his service.
In November 2019, Cher Ami became one of the first winners of the Animals in War & Peace Medal of Bravery, bestowed on her posthumously at a ceremony on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
To American schoolchildren of the 1920s and 1930s, Cher Ami was a famous war hero. Cher Ami's body was later enshrined in the Smithsonian Institution. She is on display with Sergeant Stubby in the National Museum of American History's "Price of Freedom" exhibit.
It is important to give pigeons the respect that they deserve, and to restore their tarnished reputation. They are beautiful creatures. They are loyal, intelligent and friendly. Pigeons served our nation during both World Wars, as vital messengers. Their contribution must never be forgotten, as it helped us to achieve victory, and the freedom which we all enjoy today.
Pigeons do not pose a risk to human health, as confirmed by vets and the RSPB.
The cruelty towards pigeons, which damages Great Britain’s reputation, at home and abroad, as a Nation Of Animal Lovers, must end.
Please sign and share this petition. I attach the link to it below.
The link to the song “Please be Nice to Pigeons” is below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWbqyExGnGk
Let’s be kind to pigeons and all creatures who share our world. Speciesism has no place in our world today.
Thank you for your support.