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Pigeons Have MAGA Hats & Trump Wigs Glued To Heads To Welcome US President
By Mikelle Leow, 20 Feb 2020
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Image via Wachiwit / Shutterstock.com
Birds of a feather flocked together in downtown Las Vegas on Tuesday wearing miniature MAGA hats and blond wigs inspired by US president Donald Trump.
The bizarre sight was reportedly an “aerial protest piece” commenting on the upcoming 2020 Democratic debate on Wednesday. As Trump was also scheduled to arrive in Las Vegas on Tuesday, the pigeons were activated to welcome him.
The campaign was launched by an “underground radical group” who calls themselves P.U.T.I.N, which stands for “Pigeons, United to Interfere Now,” according to Newsweek.
Activists told the Review-Journal that the head accessories were adhered onto the pigeons’ heads with eyelash glue, a cosmetic item used to apply eyelash extensions. They added that the tiny hats would naturally drop off the birds’ heads in a few days.
The group found the pigeons months ahead of the activation, and built a coop to care for the birds. Before being enlisted, many of the pigeons were found covered in oil and had “stringfoot,” referring to string, hair, plastic or other debris stuck to the birds’ feet.
The campaign was apparently inspired by a 1970s CIA-led mission dubbed Operation Tacana, where pigeons were engaged to snoop into Soviet Union territory with hidden cameras to capture photos of prime locations during the Cold War.
Mariah Hillman of Las Vegas nonprofit Lofty Hopes told Newsweek that the unorthodox activation was “cruel,” and called P.U.T.I.N “absurd” for guising the stunt as a rescue effort “and then gluing things to animals’ heads and setting them free.”
The group, however, proclaimed that the movement would also improve overall sentiments for pigeons, who they said are often seen as “rats with wings” but are really “smart” and strategic.
A flock of pigeons donning tiny #MAGA hats (one even had hair resembling Trump’s) have been spotted in Downtown Las Vegas. pic.twitter.com/BAdpw3fDTk
— Courtney Holland 🇺🇸 (@hollandcourtney) February 19, 2020
[via Newsweek, images via various sources]
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