6.6°C Mostly Cloudy 
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I was writing my article about Clousten Chalmer’s invitation to the Queen’s Garden Party, when I discovered that the Queen is the Patron of the Royal Pigeon Racing Association
Huh?
This sent me on a quest to discover just what Pigeon Racing is (besides the obvious…the race of pigeons), how popular it is and how do they get those stupid birds to actually race – and return after said race.
The pigeons are taken to a particular loft when they are young, to which they learn to return and where they are fitted with tracking devices. They are trained to return to their loft at the call of their handler and to hop into boxes at the handler’s command to be taken to areas where they are let go. Obviously at this point they are to return to the loft ahead of the others. The races are from 100 miles to the longest being over 451 miles.
In 2008, 20,000 people attended the BHW (British Homing World) Show of the Year, which is just insane. Where would you actually watch them? As they came into the loft? Do people cheer or stay silent when they come in to make sure they don’t startle the thousands of birds as they head for their home loft?
Is there an awards ceremony where the birds are celebrated? The answer is yes, yes there is. Pigeons can be awarded with trophies for the best performance of a single pigeon and awards and for their standing.
Pigeon racing even has its own magazine, the British Homing World. It’s a weekly with over 24,000 copies sold every week. The Royal Pigeon Association itself has 54,000 members. Who are these people so interested in pigeons?
Race winners receive 20,000 pounds for a win, (I assume it goes to the owner, not the pigeon) which is around $40,000 Canadian.
What have I been doing, thinking that only dogs, horses and humans should race? I need to get in on this. I noticed some pigeons in Kimberley’s Platzl the other day. I thought it was rather strange, but clearly it was a sign that a career change was in my future. If I can’t make it big in the racing world, perhaps I can apply for a job at the Daily Pigeon, or whatever their magazine is called.
And guess what – pigeon racing has a dark underbelly. While baseball has its steroid scandals and hockey has its fighting, pigeon racing has its bird of prey killing. That’s right, racing pigeon owners have been suspected of killing falcons and other raptors because they tend to eat their valuable birds during races and practice.
Here in Canada pigeons are the equivalent of rats with wings. They are dirty, nasty little creatures that scavenge for dropped food and pester tourists.
In fact, when I was in London last year we made a point of frightening and harassing the pigeons. Maybe I shouldn’t have done that. I could have been kicking at someone’s beloved thoroughbred.
