‘Fugitive’ US pigeon caught in Australia

An American pigeon believed to have strayed 14,480 kilometres from home had Australian authorities in a flap yesterday after it turned up in a Melbourne backyard having evaded strict quarantine rules. 

Kevin Chelli-Bird discovered the emaciated pigeon tagged with an ankle band outside his home on Boxing Day, local media reported.

Dubbed "Joe" after US President-elect Joe Biden, the bird went missing during a US race in October, Chelli-Bird told the Herald Sun newspaper, and has been tracked to an owner in Alabama.

The pigeon's epic journey sent local media into a flutter but as the news reached authorities, the bird became a fugitive for skipping Australia's strict entry procedures.

"As it was not legally prepared for import or imported, the health status of this bird and any others it has been in contact with at its origin and prior to arrival in Australia is unknown," a Department of Agriculture spokeswoman said in a statement.

"It poses a direct biosecurity risk to Australian bird life and our poultry industry."

It will have to be humanely destroyed if it came from the United States without passing through quarantine, according to the department.

Recent press coverage is unlikely to save Joe; officials previously threatened to euthanise dogs belonging to movie star Johnny Depp and then-wife Amber Heard, after they failed to declare the pets on immigration papers. The pair managed to save their Yorkshire terriers with a quick flight out of the country. However, as Joe's owner is still to speak up, the feathered fugitive may have to wing it.