Pigeons with 'Make America Great Again' hats glued to their head released in Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS — Pigeons with tiny Make American Great Again hats glued to their heads were released in downtown Las Vegas this week, in what appears to be a sarcastic statement of loyalty to Trump and protest of Nevada's upcoming Democratic presidential caucus.
A group calling itself P.U.T.I.N., Pigeons United To Interfere Now, claimed responsibility for the stunt. The pigeons were set loose on Tuesday, according to the group.
You see the red thing on that pigeon’s head? It’s a “Make America Great Again” hat. A group released a flock of them downtown Las Vegas on the eve of the Democratic Debate. @News3LVpic.twitter.com/xtCyd2rA96
— Max Darrow (@MaxNews3LV) February 19, 2020
NBC affiliate KSNV spotted at least one of the pigeons still in a hat on a downtown street on Wednesday afternoon.
"P.U.T.I.N. have used their pigeons to launch a one of a kind aerial protest piece in response to the arrival of the 2020 Democratic Presidential hopefuls," according to a group statement. "The release date was also coordinated to serve as a gesture of support and loyalty to President Trump."
Pigeons United To Interfere Now
Twenty-five pigeons were released, with 24 of them wearing hats and one donning a Trump-style wig, the group said in an email to NBC News on Thursday.
"Most have returned. We expect to see the rest tonight or tomorrow," the group said.
While the stunt has drawn some laughs, Mariah Hillman, who runs Lofty Hopes, a Las Vegas pigeon rescue organization, called the MAGA stunt "animal cruelty."
In December, videos of three pigeons wearing miniature red cowboy hats went viral after they were seen on Las Vegas streets.
“It started here with the press making fun of it, the police didn’t do anything about it and now it’s grown into this, so when is it going to stop and who’s going to do something about it?” Hillman told NBC News on Thursday.
Pigeons United To Interfere Now
Hillman and her volunteers are setting traps in hopes of removing the pigeons' hats before rehabilitating and releasing the birds.
The pigeons are wearing the hats with the help of eyelash glue.
“It doesn’t matter what kind of glue it is, it is still in fact cruelty because you are impairing their vision,” said Hillman, adding that her organization rescues many birds, such as wedding-release pigeons and racing pigeons, that are trained to come back to their flock.
“There’s not always a guarantee that they’ll return because they can get injured or killed before that happens.”
Anita Hassan reported from Las Vegas and David K. Li from New York.
