Members Protest Pigeon-Racing Show in Mike Tyson's Neighborhood
For Immediate Release:
March 7. 2011
Contact:
David perle 757-622-7382
Las Vegas -- Holding signs that read, "Mike Doesn't Give Pigeons a Fighting Chance" and "Featherweights: No Match for a Heavyweight," a group of PETA members will gather outside Mike Tyson's gated community in Henderson on Monday to protest the former fighter's pigeon-racing television show, which debuted last night.
Where: Northwest corner of Taro Lane and Grand Hills Drive, Henderson
When: Monday, March 7, 1–2 p.m.
"If Mike Tyson truly loved birds, he would fight for their protection—not force them into a 'race' that tears them away from their families and subjects them to injuries, exhaustion, and death," says PETA Vice President Lisa Lange.
Pigeons forced to race are taken as many as 500 miles away from their mates—with whom they form loyal, lifelong bonds. Those who manage to avoid storms, injury, or exhaustion and make their way home to their mates might still have their necks wrung by unsatisfied trainers.
In a recent ESPN interview, Tyson said, "I try not to get too attached. That's why I keep breeder pigeons—if a bird gets sick or dies, I can produce another one."
For more information, please visit PETA.org.