The National Animal Protection Agency released an open letter addressed to Pope Francis about the traditional release of the doves on the last Sunday of January after the doves were attacked by two other birds, the Associated Press reported.
Shortly after two children and the Pope released the pair of doves as a symbol of peace, the birds were attacked by a seagull and a crow, according to the AP.
The animal rights agency known as ENPA said gulls from the Tibet River nearby nest on top of the St. Peter's Square where the doves are released from, according to the AP. The agency says to continue released doves raised in captivity is "condemning them to certain death."
"Animals born in captivity, not being wild animals, aren't able to recognize predators as such and are thus incapable of fleeing from possible dangerous situations," ENPA said in the statement, the AP reported.
In hopes to get the Popes attention, the Italian Federation of Animal and Environment Rights Association also posted a copy of the letter on their website, according to the AP.
The dove release began with John Paul II and since then two children from an Italian Catholic group join the pope at the window in St. Peter's Square for the dove release, the AP reported.
Sunday's attack on the doves wasn't the first time other birds go after the doves after release, and since the doves are born and bred in captivity, they do not instinctively fly away from the attacking birds, ENPA said, according to the AP.
Michela Brambilla told the AP she was sure the Pope, who is also the first to choose the name of St. Francis Assisi because of his love for wild creatures, would reconsider the tradition due to his expressed "extraordinary love" for animals.
"It is clear that traditions of many years reach a moment where they have to be reconsidered," Brambilla told the AP.
During a ride through St. Peter's Square, Pope Francis was given a cage with two doves in it. Immediately after being handed the cage, he placed his hand inside and freed both doves, the AP reported.
In the letter released by ENPA, the advocacy groups mentions the Pope's current encyclical, which is a formal document on ecology, according to the AP.
"We know that the pontiff said he was sensitive to protecting the environment and the creatures that share it with us," the animal protection organization wrote in the letter, the AP reported.
