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Scanning the deep blue of a cloudless Javanese sky, nine-year-old Trio furrows his brow. Yet, it’s for this very reason that I find myself investigating the sport of pigeon racing in a small village in Central Java. But few would ever consider these divisive creatures to be highly-tuned speed machines that can bring fame and fortune to those who own and train them. Others have a more romantic mental image of little old ladies feeding cooing flocks in ancient squares or leafy parks. Some people view them as nothing more than rats with wings disease-infested intruders that invade our cities and befoul our pavements. Those demands had turned away many modern folk, once sending the sport into a decline.Pigeons are surprisingly emotive birds. Pigeon breeding demands constant attention, every single day of the year. This is where, little more than a generation ago, the national weekend radio news was followed by announcements on whether pigeons were released in faraway places in France or even Spain and what weather conditions the birds were facing.Īfter World War II, Belgium had over 250,000 members in the pigeon fancier federation. Prize pots can reach into the tens of millions of euros.įor breeding, though, there is no place like Belgium. China often features one-loft racing, where pigeons all get used to one coop for months and then are released many hundreds of miles away to make their way back with their unique sense of orientation and special speed training. With the rise of business wealth in China came also conspicuous consumption and a new venue for gambling. May the best pigeon win 24 photosĪs so often, globalization has made the difference. And the current price of gold stands about 26,000 euros ($30,350) per pound. Only a decade ago, the record price for a pigeon stood at one-tenth of New Kim's price. "Everybody is interested in our pigeons," Pascal Bodengien, head of the Belgian pigeon federation, told The Associated Press. It's not a short-term endeavor, however, since becoming expert at genetic breeding with the constant mixing and mating of birds takes years, if not decades. "Usually a male is worth more than a female because it can produce more offspring." Nikolaas Gyselbrecht, founder of Pipa, a Belgian auction house for racing pigeons, shows a two-year old female pigeon named New Kim.īelgians have long stood out as the best breeders, both because of their generations-long experience and the density of a network where many breeders can organize races close together.
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"These record prices are unbelievable, because this is a female," Nikolaas Gyselbrecht, the CEO and founder of the auction house Pipa, told Reuters. The auctioneers said the bird's gender made the sale even more unusual. New Kim's new owners are expected to use her for breeding, BBC News reported. "The only thing I can see is we are in total shock," Van de Wouwer told Reuters. It still amounted to an amazing weekend for one pigeon breeder. A second part of the auction is ending on Monday, but didn't include any bird that could match New Kim. All 445 birds were put on auction and the overall sale was already pushing past 6 million euros ($7 million).
#Pigeon racing professional
On this occasion, successful breeder Gaston Van de Wouwer retired at 76 and his son had too busy a professional life to continue the famed pigeon coop.