New York, Mar 22 (THAINDIAN NEWS) The People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has alleged that Mike Tyson’s upcoming reality TV show about pigeon racing encourages gambling, as the game show indulges in illegal gambling. The boxer is about to star in the Animal Planet reality show – ‘Take on Tyson’, which is a show about bird racing. Mike Tyson loves pigeons, and has kept them as pets, so he was the best choice for the show. But now the ‘Take on Tyson’ show is under investigation over PETA’s accusations of illegal gambling.

PETA says that the show violates the gambling laws of New York, as it generates profits from bird racing. The District Attorney of Brooklyn said that they are looking into the PETA’s accusations. However the channel – Animal Planet defended that there is no illegal gambling involved on the show.

In this TV series, the boxing legend Mike Tyson will pit his pigeons against other racing-pigeon owners in New York. He tells the New York Post, “I may have stopped fighting. But I never stopped flying birds. It’s my first love.” It will be quite interesting to watch Mike Tyson in a different avatar as a racing pigeon keeper altogether. The series will be shot from April 2010, and it is said that it will be telecast in early 2011 on the channel Animal Planet.