The police made it clear to a taxi driver in Tokyo that pigeons are also road users worthy of protection. The 50-year-old was arrested because he intentionally ran over a pigeon, the police confirmed. The taxi driver “used his car to kill a pigeon,” said a police spokesman. Japanese broadcaster Fuji TV reported that police classified the driver’s behavior as “highly malicious.”
The incident had previously made headlines in Japan. According to media reports, last month when the light turned green at an intersection, the taxi driver sped towards a group of pigeons that were on the road at around 60 kilometers per hour. The sudden roar of the engine alerted a passer-by, who then called the police.
Investigators took the case very seriously and hired a veterinarian to perform an autopsy on the pigeon to determine beyond doubt whether it died as a result of the collision with the taxi. According to media reports, the taxi driver felt he was in the right. “The streets belong to the people, so the pigeons should have gotten out of the way,” said the 50-year-old.
The arrest sparked discussions on online networks. “Wow, you can be arrested for running over a pigeon?” asked a user on the online service X (formerly Twitter) in surprise. Another wrote that the taxi driver had “crossed a line.” “He could have just honked or something.”
