Beijing pigeons - not as trustworthy as you thought

Somewhat comical, of course:

BEIJING The 10,000 doves released in a ceremony Wednesday for China's National Day underwent unusual scrutiny, each having its feathers and anus checked for dangerous materials, state-run media reports said, reflecting government jitters over possible attacks.

If you can't rely on these symbols of piece, what is left? Nevertheless:

Beijing domestic security police officer Guo Chunwei was quoted in the Jinghua Times as saying workers checked the wings, legs and anus of each pigeon ahead of time to ensure they were "not carrying suspicious material." The entire process was videotaped, and the birds were then loaded into sealed vehicles for the trip to Tiananmen Square, the newspaper said.

I hope that the pigeons in question had an intensive cleansing of their intestines, to prevent any possibility of you know what:

Because, instead of the usual medal for heroics displayed in preparation of the ceremony, the brave security police mandarin will get only that:

Deservedly.