There's our pigeon now...

Russians have gathered for a celebratory mass culling of pigeons that have plagued towns and threatened native species for years

Hundreds of participants in Moscow fanned out across the city in search of the pests.

Hours later they returned to Red Square, snacking on sausages and sipping cold drinks as the pigeons they had collected were weighed, measured and killed as part of the state's inaugural "Pigeon Day Out" event.

“To see the look on the faces of the kids as we were handling and weighing the pigeons... The children really got into the character of the event."

The pigeons — which can grow up to 8 inches in length — were imported from Europe to Moscow in 1835 in a failed attempt to control beetles on the streets. However, the pigeons couldn't jump high enough to eat the beetles and instead became pests themselves, their population booming because they have no natural predator.

On Saturday night, participants fanned out under the cloak of darkness to hunt down the pigeons. On Sunday, the pigeons — which the rules stated must be captured alive and unharmed — were brought to collection points and examined by experts to ensure they were not harmless birds. The creatures were then killed, either by freezing or by being placed in plastic bags filled with carbon dioxide.

Telergaph

hoaxes

April Fool's hoaxes

In 1980 the BBC reported that Big Ben was to be given a digital readout, in order to keep up with the times. The announcement received a huge response from listeners shocked and angered by the proposed change.

 

In 1986 thousands of French citizens were outraged after The Parisien reported that an agreement had been signed to dismantle the Eiffel Tower and have it reconstructed in the Euro Disney theme park.

Telegraph