Someone is putting tiny cowboy hats on pigeons in Las Vegas as animal rescue works to remove them

Authored by fox32chicago.com and submitted by One_Day_Dead

Someone in Las Vegas has been putting tiny cowboy hats on the heads of Las Vegas pigeons, and while you might be asking yourself why, one local onlooker only has one explanation: “the rodeo is in town.”

That’s what Robert Lee told Storyful when asked about the pigeons he recorded wearing miniature cowboy hats.

“That’s the only explanation I have,” said Lee. “I saw something red on the pigeon’s head and looked down to these awesome things,” he said.

KVVU reported that a local animal rescue and pigeon advocacy group known as Lofty Hopes has serious concerns about the negative impacts the hats will have on the pigeons.

"At first, I was like, oh my God that's cute!” Mariah Hillman told KVVU. "Then, I was like, wait a minute – how did they get those hats on there?“

Hillman runs the animal advocacy organization, whose slogan is, “a pigeon positive movement.”

While the identity of the person putting the hats on the pigeon remains unknown, Hillman told KVVU her organization is on a mission to track down the birds and remove their hats.

These Las Vegas pigeons were photographed wearing tiny cowboy hats.

"Did they glue them? And what does that mean for them?” Hillman said. "Is it something that's going to impede their flight or attract predators?“

Lofty Hopes shared a video from the Facebook page Las Vegas Locally on Monday of a few pigeons wearing the cowboy hats, asking anyone who has seen any to call the number posted on their page.

therealsix on December 10th, 2019 at 13:08 UTC »

"...one local onlooker only has one explanation: “the rodeo is in town.”"

Best answer.

Alchemist011813 on December 10th, 2019 at 09:15 UTC »

I have so many questions. Who is this mystery person or people? How do they catch the pigeons long enough to fit them with these little hats? Where do they GET the little hats? How is this person "securing" the hats to to the pigeons' heads?

I'm so confused and filled with wonder.

Edit: I want to believe humans have nothing to do with this, and there is a secret society of pigeons. Perhaps they are involved in organized crime, a sort of "pigeon mafia" and they wear hats so the other pigeons know they are in the PM (pigeon mafia).

Edit 2: thank you for the gold, kind stranger!

trackonesideone on December 10th, 2019 at 09:14 UTC »

I heard some of the "older pigeon cowboys" have started eating canned beans cooked over an open fire.