i think this is a really sad story. india’s police pigeon service is being disbanded.

the government’s audit department now believes that the service - employing some 800 birds - has become redundant with the advent of e-mail and electronic communication. i’m not entirely convinced by this as the report also mentions that the carrier pigeon’s finest hours have been in times of floods and cyclones when radio networks are disrupted. i can still see times when the pigeons will get through and the email won’t.