When all is done that is asked of me and I can fly no higher, I pray this day his hand extends to welcome home a flyer

I have been rescueing the Pigeon both feral and racer for over 18 years now, I am a former in-field rescuer and Moderator for 911pigeonalert, there are many horrors done unto the Pigeon within the Racing Pigeon world, if you find a Racing Pigeon lost, leave the bird be free, if you trace the number back to the owner you will more than likely here "keep the bird" or "I don't want the bird back", if the owner does come and pick the bird up that bird will be killed, if the bird can't find his/her way home, then the bird can't win a race, no win means no money, no money means death to the bird, a quick snap of the neck ends the birds life......these are the FACTS...the TRUTH about the so called prestigeous sport called Pigeon Racing

There are a lot worse things than pigeoon racing. Some people who train hunting dogs raise pigeons just for training their dogs. And some falconers use live pigeons tied to a tether to train their birds to hunt (I have nothing against falconry, but the birds can be trained just as well using a fake lure with food tied to it, instead of a live domestic animal that is unable to escape).

Karen
Chico (conure) and Pippin (budgie)
WI

i race pigeons and have never heard of this. i certainly would never do it. im just sayin not every fancier is like that. where did you get that info anyhow?

I have known many Racing Pigeon people over the years and from there own mouths here's what Pigeon Racers have to say.
What happens to lost pigeons,
in racers'/fanciers' own words, which is a very small sample of such messages posted to their own, restricted membership email discussion groups (unless otherwise noted):
To read about more abuses, click on Killing Pigeons for Ego, Profit, and Fun and Competitive Pigeon Racers'/Fanciers' Attitudes

Note: It is a customary practice of competitive pigeon racers to kill lost birds they retrieve after being found and reported by concerned people. The hapless bird may be the result of "basket culling" in the first place, which means that birds are carelessly released far from home and any who don't make it back to their family and friends (in essence, abandoned) are deemed not worthy of keeping, anyway.

A tactic to build and maintain a false public image by the competitive pigeon racing community is to assure finders that lost birds are welcome back home, even though they will actually be killed -- if not immediately, most likely in the very near future because their failure to return home proved to their owner that they are no longer worthy of being alive.


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From: Harry Hill Maverick Loft
. . .
I got a message yesterday ... about a call from a lady with a lost bird... ... She is afraid if she returns it to its owner it will be killed... I will contact the birds owner and let him know what is happening with the bird and we'll see what happens from there. The lady wants to make it a pet if it will be killed so I hope the owner of the bird will let her have it.



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From: Harry Hill Maverick Loft
. . .
...if I can find the legal owner he or she could claim the bird. I'm trying to locate the owner, what I want to avoid is having a situation where the legal owner contacts the animal lover and says to kill it or picks it up and kills it. That happens ... often. I got a call about a lost bird once and contacted the owner to pick up their bird. They didn't want to but I explained it was the responsibility of the owner to collect lost birds. This person went to where the bird was, collected it and as he walked back to his car he pulled its head in front of the rescuers and threw it in the trash can. I got the call from the rescuers who were all upset and could not understand why someone would do something like that. ...we do have to be discreet in how we do this in front of others...



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Subject: ... What to do with them all...
From: Eleanor D Souza - Lady Flyer - 1212 Loft

I for one would not want all my racers to return -- where would I put them? What would I do with them? ...

... Racers that have done nothing as a young bird or as a yearling and show no signs of being a potentially good breeder are culled. Yes. Culled killed. ... I haven't come across anyone wanting to keep a pigeon as a pet and I wouldn't give a cull to anyone wanting to improve their stock. ...I don't have the time, money, or energy to keep birds that have not proven themselves as racers nor showing potential in being a good breeder.


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Subject: Re: Mike Sordahl--"Keep the best cull the rest."
From: Mike Thomas

I have been breeding pigeons for over twenty-five years ... Normally I raise around fifty birds each year. I train hard and ... some birds can't take daily training meaning, they don't make it home and are lost in the wild to die ... I have never had more than two or three that I have kept at the end of the year. Everything else is culled. Since I don't fly oldbirds sic if the bird does not produce in the breeding loft as a yearling then it is also culled.

Sounds harsh, but I am interested in winning. ...
. . .
To be successful in pigeons you have to treat them like a business...


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Subject: CULLING
From: Andrei

For the homing pigeons culling isn't necessary because you can fly them and those that aren't good enough will be lost. If a bird comes from the races late every time and it isn't in the prizes you simply send it to a longer race and if it comes you send to a longer one and so on.



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Subject: Re: Culling (Animal Dave) BY Kenneth Oliver
From: Skyrac 4370 SkyRacer Lofts

If a person against lethal culling were a pigeon in my loft it would be culled... FACT NOT FICTION.
. . .
If you race your birds and lose one what do you think happens to it? More than likely it will die a slow death of starvation or be food for some hawk. I'll be ---- if I will feed them hawks. Over their dead bodies!!



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Click on this line to see a very special page re: Steve Souza



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Subject: Returning Lost Racers
From: goosegirl...
Newsgroup

... I once met a pigeon guy at the feed store who raced pigeons; he said if a bird of his got lost, and was returned to him by a person, he just snapped the bird's neck for being a lousy racer....


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Subject: YB races
From: Chris ... Drummond

By cutting YB losses, we hope to 'appear' as though we are more concerned for the birds.

Subject: Racers 1st-White dove 2nd

In regards to the white bird release business... I got all the white birds I could lay my hands on and flew them through the races... What is left, are what I bred....


Culling within the Racing world is FACT, it is the Pigeon Racer that is destroying the image of Pigeon Racing, soon enough the racing pigeon will loose there federal protection, Not soon enough the federal goverment will begin to impose strict regulations unto Pigeon Racing and I can only pray the number one law will be (only one bird entered into a race per loft) enough of this entering untrained birds into a race just to be rid of them (basket Cullers).
& I never said all all racing people are alike, the good folks need to weed there garden, or all will losse there right to race pigeons.
You breed them....your responsable for there lives and this doesn't mean a quick snap of the neck...

So, where do I get my information from....the Racing Persons MOUTH thats where.....bottom line.

Please forgive me if I am a little harsh, frankly I am very set back by the Pigeon Racing world and the exploitation of the bird of peace.
Why Mankind has to use ANY animal for gain or profit is simply beyond me.
Facts;
A bird that is to big...killed.
Black tounge...Killed.
To small...Killed.
The list goes on and on...
The Racing Pigeon world is being destroyed from within by the Racing People, its a world gone wild...no control, and whom really suffers, the bird of peace, the pigeon ends up paying the ultimate price, they pay with there lives.
Most birds I rescue are Racing Pigeons, when they are found they are starving, most are basket cullers, Unwanted birds entered into a long distance race knowing they won't make it home, these birds are doomed to Wondering, searching for there home, many starve to death.
I have spent a generous amount of my life and in-come helping these birds.
If any of you have time, and a pair of field glasses, find a feral flock and simply sit down and watch the birds, you will be amazed at how many birds are Banded, then the public begins to get angry at there numbers and then cities carry out mass poisonings, its a loose loose loose situation for the Pigeon...
I simply put, Have NO respect for the Racing Pigeon world...NONE...