A 50-year-old Tokyo taxi driver is facing charges for killing a pigeon after plowing through a flock at 35 miles per hour. The driver is accused of violating a Japanese wildlife protection law, according to the New York Times. In Japan, all birds (even pigeons) can’t be removed or killed without government permission. This recent incident has restarted a conversation on whether or not pigeons should be granted such protections.
Police arrested the driver on December 3 and claimed that he said, “Roads belong to humans, so pigeons should have dodged out of the way.” According to law enforcement, the taxi was waiting at an intersection for a traffic signal to turn green while a flock of pigeons loitered ahead of the vehicle. An autopsy carried out by a veterinarian confirmed that the pigeon died of traumatic shock. When confronted by birds, drivers in Japan are encouraged to accelerate slowly to let the birds disperse on their own. The New York Times reported:
“Legal experts said that the arrest of the taxi driver appeared to be less about the fate of the single pigeon and more about the social harm caused by the deliberate decision to kill a living creature.
“The driver drove over a pigeon at a high speed,” said Kazuaki Ishii, a lawyer in Kyoto who specializes in pet and animal rights. “which violates the social order that the wildlife protection and management act aims to protect.” Atsushi Hosokawa, an animal rights lawyer, said the police appeared to see someone who would run over any animal at 35 m.p.h. as a danger to society at large. It is up for discussion whether the police’s actions were commensurate with the seriousness of the allegation, he added.”
If found guilty, the taxi driver could face up to a year in prison or a fine of a million yen ($7,000). Pigeons were considered for pest status under the law during the 1980s, but the proposal was ultimately rejected due to concerns over racing pigeons. While humanity should show compassion for animals, maybe we shouldn’t imprison people for mowing down a pigeon.
