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An Important Question ...

A very important question was asked recently by a beginner, "If we love our racing pigeons so much, why do we send them away to races knowing that some are going to be lost?"

I have thought often about this question and always answered it in my own mind by saying, "We need to perpetuate the breed and they have to be tested by racing, or I like to see them come home from races." Is this enough to justify putting the birds under the stress of racing etc? Am I doing it just to satisfy my own pleasure? My own opinion on this question didn't seem to be enough so I asked three experienced and successful fanciers what they thought.

All three fanciers agreed that this was a very hard question to answer. One fancier answered quite simply by saying that we just do it. Then he went on to compare pigeon racing with feeding wild birds in our gardens. When we feed the wild birds we encourage them to congregate in one area. This puts them at risk with predators and the spreading of disease. Perhaps we should encourage them to disperse over a wide area where they would be at less risk from predators and disease. Then we would not have the pleasure of observing them at close range. As humans we often put ourselves in these dilemmas. With the wild birds, is it enough justification if we think by feeding them that they are able to survive better and raise more young?

Now back to the pigeons. The second fancier had a different idea which also takes wild birds into consideration. He said that we are helping the wild birds survive. When a predator takes one of our pigeons it has food for perhaps two or three days and will not need to prey on wild birds. An interesting angle to add to the discussion.

The third fancier had yet another angle. He wanted to know if decisions he had made regarding selection, training, feeding and breeding were right or wrong. In order to find out he had to race his birds and compare the results.

Am I any wiser by asking these fanciers for their ideas? I am still going to race my birds and answer any criticism if it comes. What are your views on this question? I would be glad to hear from you and I will report back.

Email me at laurholb@telus.net.