Pigeon racing
[4] From Belgium the modern version of the sport and the Voyageurs which the Flemish fanciers developed spread to most parts of the world.
Once quite popular, the sport has experienced a downturn in participants in some parts of the world in recent years, possibly due to the rising cost of living, ageing fanciers, and a severe lack of public interest.
[1][page needed] They are the result of crossing of a number of other breeds, primarily the Smerle, French Cumulet, English Carrier, Dragoon, and the Horseman (now lost).
These clocks were designed with special compartments where an entry band, removed from the returning race bird was placed.
[10] Since then, to compete in a race, it must wear a permanent, unique numbered ring or band that is placed on its leg at about five days old.
The pad or antenna is placed at the entry point to the loft entrance and as the pigeon crosses it the electronic band is scanned.
[12] In February 2008 the members of the Penygraig Homing Society Racing Pigeon Club in Wales won an award to fund a new electronic timing device.
Pigeons are recorded by electronic timing systems scanning the birds as they enter the home loft with winners decided by as little as 100th of a second.
After a few days of learning how to locate the water and eating by themselves they are allowed to wander out of the loft and peck around in the garden, while doing this they are constantly observing their surroundings and becoming familiar with them.
At about age six to seven weeks the birds will begin taking off, flying in very small circles around their loft and owner's house.
As confident flyers, the young pigeons are taken on progressively longer 'training tosses', driven a distance away from their home and released.
After the baby is weaned the hen is removed and often the nestbox is closed off, from then on the only time these birds are allowed to see their mate or enter the nest box is upon returning from training or a race.
Due to advancements in technology researchers have been able to use small Global Positioning Systems to track the flight paths that their birds follow.
Some speculation has surfaced indicating that mobile phone towers may be interrupting the birds' navigation,[20] although no published research has investigated this theory.
Pigeon breeders are careful in selecting birds to pair together so as to continue improving the breed and gain a competitive edge.
[citation needed] Hens are often capable of laying upwards of 12 eggs per year, and squabs usually leave the nest at approximately three to four weeks of age.
The drugs are used to produce similar effects to those found in human athletes, building up muscle tissue and opening the respiratory tracts.
[22] While tests in Belgium had not found traces of any drugs, the South African laboratory discovered that six samples contained unusual substances.
Five samples were found to include traces of acetaminophen (paracetamol), a widely used over-the-counter analgesic (pain reliever) and antipyretic (fever reducer).
[31] Pigeon racing was particularly popular throughout the twentieth century in the New York City area, particularly in Brooklyn/Coney Island and in Hoboken New Jersey, where it still has devotees.
[32][33][34] Pigeon racing is becoming increasingly popular in parts of Asia, especially Indonesia, India, China, Pakistan, Iran, Philippines, Japan, Taiwan and Bangladesh.
[clarification needed] Taiwan has more racing pigeon events than any other country in the world, and can point to between two and three million birds.
This transporter enables the birds to be fed and watered en route before mass release at a predetermined time for their flight back to various home lofts.
[36] The Janssen brothers (Louis, Charel, Arjaan and Sjef) were a famous and successful pigeon racing family from Arendonk, Belgium.
After Poland regained independence in 1918, several such organisations were established, and in 1926 the first nationwide breeders' association was established: Zjednoczenie Polskich Stowarzyszeń Hodowców Gołębi Pocztowych na Rzeczpospolita Polska (Unification of Polish Mail Pigeon Breeders' Associations for the Republic of Poland).
Furthermore, the sport's image has changed in the last decade: nowadays it stands for a fine art[clarification needed] in Romania, with symbolic prizes and bets.
[26] The British Royal Family first became involved with pigeon racing in 1886 when King Leopold II of Belgium gave them breeding stock.
Labours MEP Brian Simpson, from Golborne, believed that it was unfair to allow concerns about avian flu to throttle the fanciers' sport.
British Homing World holds a show each year; all profits from the event are donated to both national and local charities, including Help the Aged and the Association for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus.
The auction, where he bought several other birds, was held after the Sun City Million Dollar Pigeon Race.
