Birds pictured making nests out of DRUG NEEDLES as cops admit city’s heroin crisis is out of control
Police officer insists the photograph was not faked and shows the scale of the opioid abuse epidemic scourging Vancouver
A TOP cop’s viral tweet apparently showing a pigeon's nest made entirely from used hypodermic needles reveals just how rampant hard drug abuse is in the Canadian city of Vancouver.
Superintendent Michelle Davey of Vancouver Police shared the poignant images after spotting the depressing site in a rundown part of the city.
Supt Davey tweeted: "Pigeons spotted making a nest out of needles in a DTES SRO room.”
She said it symbolised the "sad reality of the opioid crisis" and added the hashtag notstaged to show she believes it was not faked.
The tweet has been retweeted almost 500 times since.
Vancouver is currently in the grips of an epidemic in the use of fentanyl which is medically used as a painkiller but widely abused in Canada.
The drug is 100 times more stronger than Morphine and responsible for scores of deaths so far this year in the city.
Sgt Randy Fincham told : “The picture was shared with the public to show the reality of drug use in the Downtown Eastside and to provide a rare glimpse into the lives of first responders, health care providers, and others involved in the opioid crisis.”
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But some are doubting the images.
Fact-checking site said "The authenticity of the 'pigeon’s nest' photograph is still uncertain, and we are one of many news outlets who have sent requests to Superintendent Davey seeking more information about it.
"We don’t yet know if or how it was determined that a pigeon had in fact constructed and used the pile of needles as a nest."
The horrifying images comes as a new drug craze sweeps the US.
Called grey death, it looks like concrete mix and is usually used to knock out large animals is being blamed on thousands of deaths across the US.
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