India experienced a unique espionage saga after security services captured a pigeon it believed to be a Chinese spy.
Amid heightened tensions between India and China, India’s Central Industrial Security Force captured a pigeon in a major Mumbai port in May of last year. The pigeon set off alarm bells when an officer noticed foreign writing on its wings and plastic rings around its feet. Suspecting a novel method of espionage from China, the officer notified his superiors.
Counterintelligence and counterterrorism officers immediately jumped on the prospect.
“Rush to check on the pigeon. It could be a spy,” the control room told the officer who raised the alarm, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The bird was taken into custody for further inspection. A mug shot was taken, along with close-up photos of the wings with the writing on them. The pigeon remained in detention for months as officials tried to figure out what was going on.
While initially seeming absurd, animals have been used in official capacity since the invention of espionage. Pigeons have served vital roles in delivering messages, an especially crucial ability during times of war or conflict. Perhaps the most famous in this capacity was Cher Ami, an American pigeon who saved the “Lost Battalion” during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive.
The 20th century saw the Soviet KGB, American CIA, and British MI6 attempt to use animals for espionage purposes. It was with this in mind that India imprisoned the ill-fated pigeon last May.
Adding to this paranoia, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army announced its intention in 2010 to train nearly 10,000 pigeons as a last-ditch communications network in the event of official communication networks shutting down in a conflict.
After an intensive investigation, Indian investigators reportedly decided that the captured pigeon was an innocent racing pigeon. Racing pigeons from Taiwan and China are tagged with rings containing serial numbers and tracking chips. This also explained the foreign writing on the wings, which was too faded to read accurately.
“After all the forensic analysis and investigation, we reached a conclusion that it isn’t suspicious,” Assistant Police Inspector Ravindra Patil told the outlet.
Despite this, the order was never given to release the pigeon, so it was kept in Indian custody. After eight months in captivity, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals stepped in on behalf of the bird, demanding its release.
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“Should the bird be relegated to captivity for so long because your owner, guardian, handler, planned to use the bird for his or her nefarious activities?” Meet Ashar, legal adviser for PETA’s cruelty case division, told the outlet.
The pigeon was released in January, having been adopted as an Indian citizen.
