Universities must stop Dove Releases (2025) Digital Arts by Elodie M. Richard
- AI generated image
- Dimensions Height 20in, Width 16in
- Artwork's condition The artwork is in perfect condition
- Framing This artwork is not framed
- AI generated image The artist created this image leveraging Artificial Intelligence technology
- Categories Bird
Every year, universities and event organizers release white doves into the air as a symbol of peace, freedom, and achievement. But behind the illusion of beauty lies a cruel and avoidable truth: these birds are domesticated and unequipped for survival in the wild.
They are not symbols. They are sentient beings.
Doves used in releases do not magically return home. Most are not homing pigeons. They are left to face a world they cannot survive in—killed by predators, dying slowly from starvation, dehydration, or injury.
Graduating should mark a new beginning, not the end of innocent lives.
Releasing doves is not a celebration. It’s a practice steeped in suffering, ignorance, and disregard for the very peace these birds are meant to represent. Choosing to release them is choosing to abandon them to a certain death.
This is not tradition, it is animal abuse.
This is not honor, it is harm.
We urge universities to set a higher example for their graduates: celebrate responsibly, ethically, and with comion. There are countless ways to honor achievements that do not involve cruelty or death.
Say no to dove releases.
Say yes to life, respect, and real peace.
Related themes
Elodie M. Richard was born in but with a complex heritage including Polish and Russian. Due to her father’s career in the Army her family had to regularly move and adapt to new locations in and abroad. Her life path as a child and adult is made of travels and regular changes of geographical locations, constantly balancing between feeling of loss, challenges and new life starts.
Unlike a superficial society that gets lost in ultra consumption, Elodie creates a refined, symbolic and meditative world around the broad notion of identity. She takes her inspirations from personal experiences but also current events and her connection to nature.
The artist currently lives in Central Florida with her husband (artist himself) and their small flock of 5 rescued pigeons.
This page shows an inventory of her work as a painter and illustrator since 2016 up to this current year.
Some of her artworks appear as sold, if interested in an art piece, please private message Elodie.
- Nationality:
- Date of birth : 1975
- Artistic domains: Works by artists with a certified artist value,
- Groups: Contemporary French Artists
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