A group calling themselves P.U.T.I.N., “Pigeons United To Interfere Now,” glued tiny Make America Great Again hats to the heads of live pigeons in a stunt that has been widely criticized as animal cruelty.

The pigeons were released in downtown Las Vegas in a mock protest of the Democratic Primary and sarcastic show of loyalty to President Donald Trump.

You see the red thing on that pigeon’s head? It’s a “Make America Great Again” hat. A group released a flock of them downtown Las Vegas on the eve of the Democratic Debate. @News3LV pic.twitter.com/xtCyd2rA96

— Max Darrow (@MaxNews3LV) February 19, 2020

“P.U.T.I.N. have used their pigeons to launch a one of a kind aerial protest piece in response to the arrival of the 2020 Democratic Presidential hopefuls,” according to a statement from the group. “The release date was also coordinated to serve as a gesture of support and loyalty to President Trump.”

NBC News reports that the group told them they released twenty-five pigeons, 24 of them wearing hats and one donning a Trump-style wig.

“Most have returned. We expect to see the rest tonight or tomorrow,” the group said.

The group has been panned by Lofty Hopes, a Las Vegas pigeon rescue organization, who called the stunt “animal cruelty.” People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has also strongly condemned their actions.

“These bozos aren’t scoring any points,” PETA said in a statement. “Stupid pranks like this one are serious business that can interfere with pigeons’ ability to fly, see, and avoid predators, so it’s no surprise that at least one pigeon used in a similar stunt has already died.”

“PETA is no stranger to provocative protests,” the statement reads, “but whatever your cause or political affiliation, pigeons should be left in peace.”

The group responded to PETA with mockery.

“This is a species that gets zero attention or respect, let alone international news play,” a member of the unidentified group told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “Rather than complain, we encourage PETA to use their platform and resources to support Lofty Hopes, an organization we highly admire for their efforts in pigeon protection and care. We’d also like to kindly remind PETA that when it comes to politics, we’re all animals, and their choice to call P.U.T.I.N. ‘stupid’ and label us ‘bozos’ is highly indicative of that.”

Lofty Hopes has been searching for the birds and says that they spotted four. They noted that the hat had fallen off one of the animals that they found.

“You can still see the white glue on its head and some missing feathers,” Mariah Hillman, co-founder of Lofty Hopes, said.

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