If you’re not enjoying your job, spare a thought for the pigeons’ anus checkers in China.
Yes, there is someone checking 10,000 the backsides of pigeons.
They were examined for explosives ahead of Wednesday’s National Day, reflecting the government’s nervousness about possible attacks.
They were released in Tiananmen Square as part of the 65th anniversary celebrations of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
Beijing domestic security police officer Guo Chunwei was quoted in the Jinghua Times as saying workers checked the wings, legs and anus of each pigeon ahead of time to ensure they were ‘not carrying suspicious material.’
The entire process was videotaped, and the birds were then loaded into sealed vehicles for the trip to Tiananmen Square, the newspaper said.
A similar report appeared in the Beijing News, and the People’s Daily tweeted about it in English: ‘10,000 pigeons go through anal security check for suspicious objects Tue, ready to be released on National Day on Wed.’
The reports – which did not say what the suspicious materials might be – drew amused and derisive responses from some Chinese readers, and many news sites, including the Beijing News website, later deleted the reports. However, the Jinghua Times report and the People’s Daily tweet were still visible as of midday Wednesday.
Members of the Chinese public responded with sarcasm because they see in the pigeon body searches their own plight in what they consider an oppressive society with tight surveillance, censorship and judicial injustice, independent columnist Zhang Ping said in an editorial that was circulated on social media under his pen name, Changping.
‘The liberty and dignity of citizens are increasingly vulnerable, and can be expropriated at any time, like with the pigeons,’ Zhang wrote.
‘They have to go through the pains and insults of the rude anal check and yet they must appear peaceful and happy on the screen of the state broadcaster.’
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Source: Mirror.co.uk