The man who trained 1,000 white pigeons to be released over Hanoi on the city's 1,000-year anniversary says more than half the birds have been killed - many to appear on Vietnamese dinner tables.
In recent interviews, Pham Tai Thu has expressed his disappointment at the loss of the birds, which he had hoped would thrive as a lasting symbol of peace. He said some of the birds have been poisoned or died of diseases, while others were captured and sold to restaurants.
Thu said he painstakingly raised the birds and trained them to return to the Hanoi Botanical Garden after their release during the city's anniversary ceremonies in early October. He said he had hoped they would create large flocks to represent the city's emergence from decades of war.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP.