The birds were released as part of the festivities in Tiananmen Square, and authorities feared they could be used to carry out a terrorist attack.
The event commemorated the 65th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, and security was tight among the human visitors too.
However, the decision to perform full body searches on the birds has been mocked by local media and the public alike, with columnist Zhang Ping describing the “pains and insult of the rude anal check.”
In the end, the event went on without a hitch. However the birds’ debacle was recorded on film, so it’s probably just a matter of time before it appears on 4Chan.
