Photo Of Tortured Pigeon Forced To Wear Bell And Hat Angers Penticton Residents

A photo of a tortured pigeon with a hat glued on its head and bell wrapped around its neck is drawing outrage among residents.

On Saturday morning, Gary McDougall noticed a pigeon outside of his house that he had seen before, but noticed something was different. McDougall went inside the house, grabbed his camera and took some pictures so he could see closer.

"It looked like someone had attached, glued perhaps, a paper of some kind on its head, but also around it's neck on its chest there was a fairly large bell, about the size of a golf ball....it also looked like they may have painted it red."

McDougall says the pigeon was also missing its tail feathers, making it difficult to fly.

"It's beyond a joke. It's unacceptable. It's a cruel thing to do to anything, especially a bird because it hampers its flight," said McDougall. "Imagine hanging a bowling ball around you neck and trying to run around. Not good, not good at all."

McDougall passed along the photos to Manda Maggs, a certified wildlife rehabilitator, to see if anything could be done.

"The fact that something was done to the bird on purpose was very disturbing. There is no way that this bird got into that by accident," said Maggs.

Maggs is concerned that without intervention, the pigeon will likely endure a slow, painful death.

"The best case scenario for him right now is either for someone to catch him and fix his problem. To either remove the bell and give him a wash or whatever he needs done to him," said Maggs. "Or honestly to have a predator come for him, which would at least be a faster death than what he is facing now."

The RCMP are aware of the photo -- but have so far not received any calls about the bird.

McDougall hopes someone will come forward that knows what happened.

"It's more than just a pigeon. It's the concept that bothers me the most."