IOC Can’t Take Birds That Lightly

Faced with complaints from West German animal rights activists that the International Olympic Committee is cruel to pigeons, the IOC’s executive board decided Friday to further contemplate the matter before acting.

According to IOC spokeswoman Michelle Verdier, the activists reacted negatively to the unintentional roasting of several pigeons during the opening ceremony at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul.

Substituting for hard-to-get doves, pigeons traditionally are used in the ceremony to symbolize peace. After several thousand had been released in Seoul, some perched on the caldron and apparently lost their lives when the flame was lighted.

To prevent a repeat, IOC member Kevan Gosper of Australia said, the executive board discussed either limiting the number of pigeons used or releasing them after the flame has been lit.

But when no consensus could be reached, he said the executive board did not want to leave the issue up in the air. So the decision was to retain the status quo until the matter can be given more serious thought.

“It’s a delicate issue,” he said. “There are quite a few people who care. It was seen as a fairly light matter, but when we got down to it we decided to remain with the status quo.

“We are not prepared to do away with such an overwhelming symbol of peace.”

One solution may be to recruit smarter pigeons. Verdier said that after viewing television replays, IOC staff members have been unable to ascertain why the pigeons did not simply leave the stadium upon being granted their freedom.