A rose-tinted pigeon has been rescued in Manhattan after possibly being colored for use in a gender reveal party, according to a wildlife group.
The domestic bird - a young king pigeon - was discovered malnourished in Manhattan's Madison Square Park. It was then taken to the Wild Bird Fund for treatment, per The Guardian.
The animal rehabilitation non-profit believes that the pigeon had been deliberately dyed, theorizing that it could have been from a gender reveal party.
Taking to Twitter, Wild Bird Fund wrote a thread detailing the situation and explaining the condition that the poor pigeon had been in when they found it. "Pigeons come in many different colors, but pink isn't one of them. This king pigeon was deliberately dyed and released. As a domestic bird unable to find food in the wild, fly well, or escape predators, this poor kid had it bad enough before being dyed," they wrote.
"He's also barely more than a fledgling but shows signs of longterm malnutrition. Luckily a kind person rescued him in Madison Square Park, and he's now safely in care," the animal group wrote in a second tweet.
In a final tweet in the thread, Wild Bird Fund added: "PSA: Please never release a domestic bird to the wild. It will die of starvation or predation. If you find an all-white pigeon (or any odd color), especially one looking scared and lost, it needs help. Please catch it and contact us or a pigeon rescue org near you."
One user asked how the bird may have been dyed, to which the group replied: "'Gender reveal' is one theory growing in popularity."
Gender reveal parties - which have become increasingly popular in the United States - involve a celebration for an expectant couple as they announce the gender of their unborn child. The parties are slowly growing more elaborate, and have included releasing colored smoke, popping balloons filled with confetti, and even dying waterfalls.
However, gender reveal celebrations can often be dangerous, and in 2019 one woman was killed after being hit in the head with shrapnel from a homemade explosive. One year earlier, a man shot a target that he'd hoped would explode to reveal blue or pink powder, but ended up sparking a 47,000-acre wildfire in Arizona that lasted a week, the BBC detailed.
Some families have gotten ridiculously creative, but this has sometimes involved the exploitation of animals. In 2018, a viral video emerged of a Louisiana man feeding his pet alligator a watermelon that was filled with blue-colored jelly, prompting concerns from animal welfare groups.
The Wild Bird Fund has stated it rehabilitated upwards of 7,500 injured, ill, or orphaned animals before eventually releasing them.
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