Who knew with all the technology out there that carrier pigeons would become popular again? A second pigeon wearing a tiny makeshift backpack has been found at a corrections facility in British Columbia, Canada.
Officers discovered the latest bird wearing its backpack inside Matsqui Institution during a routine search on the morning of February 27, 2023. This comes after a pigeon was discovered around two months ago carrying a package of crystal meth was found at the Abbotsford, British Columbia, prison next door.
“It was actually inside the institution where they actually found the pigeon, again wearing a small fabric-like backpack,” said John Randle, Pacific regional president of the Union for Canadian Correctional Officers.
“Where did it come from, and what was happening? That’s kind of the big discussion right now.”
It was determined that the backpack was possibly made from cut-up jeans and was empty at the time of discovery, leading guards to believe the bird might have still been in training.
“We’ve been dealing with drones… We’ve been dealing with throw-overs. We’ve been dealing with smuggling, and now we have to deal with the wildlife aspect, which is completely new to us,” Randle said. “With a pigeon being a wild animal, it’s a wild card.”
Randle said that it’s possible the bird was able to get inside the medium-security prison through an open window or through one of the recreation yards, where inmates can spend time outside. Corrections Canada said it is not investigating the latest incident but local police are responding.