Queen of Kings

Elizabeth Young rescues King pigeons. But she didn't plan it that way

Known for its large size and white plummage, the King pigeon is bred for human consumption as squab, the meat of a young domesticated pigeon.

"I've spent many, many hours helping them and have saved 150," writes "accidental" King pigeon rescuer Elizabeth Young in a recent Care2 post. "Squab plants process 50 an hour."

"When polar bears and tigers and gorillas are going extinct...does my work as a King pigeon rescuer make any sense at all? Is this a worthwhile effort? Should I be redirecting my energy to something more important to the world? And, to make matters worse, I’m not tackling the source of the problem. I’m just helping those lucky few birds who escape the butcher and beat the odds to survive the streets long enough to get taken to an animal shelter."

According to the American King Club, the King pigeon was bred in the United States in the 1890s from four older breeds -- the Duchess for grace, the Homer for alertness, the Maltese for compactness and style and the Runt for body and size.

Pigeon intelligence has long been a subject of study in comparative psychology. They can remember hundreds of images for several years. Carrier pigeons were famously used to deliver messages for the military in World War I and World War II. And pigeons are possibly one of the few animals that can pass the so-called "mirror test," in which they are able to recognize their own individual reflected image.

"They didn’t ask to be born but they want to live," says Young, who operates out of San Francisco. "And I’ve been happily surprised by the amount of support and encouragement I’ve gotten. I’m not the only one who cares about these disposable birds."

Young wonders if rescuing King pigeons is a worthwhile effort. For the lucky ones in her care, the answer to that question is pretty clear.

GET INVOLVED

• Visit Elizabeth Young's Web site and blog
• Sign a petition urging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to ban the use of inhumane methods of pigeon control
  
• 25 Things You Can Do to Help the Birds in Your Backyard
  
• Join the Great Backyard Bird Count
• Join the Christmas Bird Count
• Join the Farm Sanctuary Advocacy Campaign Team
• Read the celebrated New York Times story "About a Bird"

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image credit: Jessica Bailey