Hey all,
I have been reading many articles and news feeds ever since the news broke that Mike Tyson was getting his own show on animal planet about pigeon racing and I have noticed that some people have been bad mouthing the sport, pigeons and fanciers not to name names (PETA). They have been saying all sorts of things like pigeons are dirty, fanciers mistreat their birds, animal cruelty and so on and so forth. It’s obvious to me that they don’t know this sport and hobby at all nor do they know us fanciers.
So I figured who better to clear our name then US! we have a great group of fanciers here on the www.pigeonracingpigeon.com blog. So post your comments below and tell the rest of the world what pigeon racing really is all about and who we fanciers really are. Tell them how much you love your pigeons and how pigeon racing is a wholesome hobby that involves the entire family, promotes bonding and responsibility just to name a few.
So go ahead and post your comments here and let’s set them straight.
Thanks for your participation.
Yours in the sport,
-Chris
The Leading Online Pigeon Racing and Racing Pigeons Magazine – The Pigeon Insider
i raised ,breed ,and showed ,AM STAFF,S (PIT BULLS )for 27 yrs, every animal in the world has there fancers, cats, dogs,horses, etc. AN THEN THEY HAVE peta, well any ways, you all know how it iS ,, if you have some thing someone else doesnt they just have to complain ,and when that dont work thay accuse becouse thatsall they know .i real dont race ,ive sent acouple of babys out just to see ,uknow ,but fist their my pets,one day theyll figure out how to keep me from hunting bambi, i real think peta stands for ( PEOPLE ENDANGERING THE ANIMALLOVERS !!! )
Racing has been around for a long time. Horses are trained and race them for sport. The owners love them, and care for them with love. Yes sometimes one will get hurt and is put down. That is part of the sport and the owners do not enjoy doing that but it is the humane thing to do. I had seen many animal lovers that race animals’ dogs, turtles, donkey just to name a few. Bird racing is a sport that is not taken lightly, it is vary rewarding. We enjoy talking to other fanciers and learning from them and networking across the world not just the US. The US military used pigeons during war and many birds saved hundreds of lives, they are heroes. The men that took care of them loved them and I for one am glad they helped us out when we needed them. Pigeons have been used for thousands of years from wars to Kings communicating with other lands. It would be terrible for this to be stopped. I love my birds and love the history of them. Keep them in the air, our loving feathered friends
They even have camel races in the Middle East.
PETA needs to get their facts straight…The good racing birds love to race, and have been domesticated by humans for thousands of years to just fly the distance to want to come home. The idea they are killed if they are not good enough is not true at all (many birds that fanciers have are very special, even if they don’t perform!).
Like others have mentioned, PETA have no right to just assume that they know what pigeon racing is. They just wanted to create attention thats all.
Also- a comment inspired by Timothy’s message- regarding culling- I have always bred from the best birds in my loft while trying to introduce better genes from outside. But I don’t have to kill the birds I don’t breed- they can make awesome parents feeders and pets. It is important that we don’t over-breed and over-crowd our lofts. I’ve said elsewhere, fellas, we need to police our own! If you know a guy who loses birds and won’t go get them when they’re found elsewhere by someone else- understand that guy has ruined YOUR reputation. What are you going to do about it? Keep a beautiful, clean, healthy loft. Love and respect your birds- the rest will take care of itself. (Maybe)
PETA – People Eating Tasty Animals.
PETA is a listed international terrorist organization by most governments, including the U.S.A. The only way they should be considered is as a threat. They are a threat, not only to the sport of racing pigeons but your well-being as well. No one is safe from PETA’s attacks as long as people care for animals of any kind.
That being said, our focus should be to extole the virtures of our sport and how it improves the overall health of the community in which we live. Young people who keep pigeons are far less likely to become criminals. Our sport requires us to be active, both physically and mentally. Such active people are more likely to be a benefit to the community. Our sport brings to the community a better connection with the natural environment. There too many virtues to list in a single paragraph.
I love PETA! But not because I agree in any way, shape or form with their agenda. I love what they do because they proclaim from the rooftops what the HSUS and ASPCA whisper in private. Make no mistake, ALL of these organizations are on the same page: the eventual absolute and total ban on ownership of any kind of animal for any purpose. They are vegans and enviro extremists who will work until their dying breath to see all of us vegetarians and only wild, non-domesticated animals in the world. When the “animal movement” began here in the U.S. in earnest, the term was “animal welfare.” That term has now been totally replaced as “animal rights.” All normal, decent animal owners are animal welfarists, people who believe their animals should be treated well and their needs provided for but animal rights extremists believe animals should be on the same level as humans and entitled to all of the same rights and privileges given to humans. PETA makes no bones about their agenda so listen closely to what they say. They are speaking for ALL of the animal rights groups.
Reply to Gene-
Very interesting! You made me stop and think for a minute. I grew up on a farm in the woods in Connecticut USA. I ate chickens, geese, sheep and corn, apples, honey and vegetables grown from the dirt God allowed us to inhabit. My father was very much interested in animal husbandry and we were our own vets, breeders, and muckers. Yeah we had horses too. Maybe it should be illegal. I hate the fact that dolphins die in tuna nets and Japanese, Russians and Norwegians still “harvest” whales from the sea. I take it as my personal responsibility that no animal suffers or lives in fear, humiliation, pain and hunger in my sight, but I love flying my pigeons. I always will. It may be my last day when some poor fool tries to make that their business. Yup- that might be it. I served in submarines and later in the Army National Guard so communists and fascists could rule my once brave republic. I guess it’s a race between Big Brother and cancer. Bring it. I don’t give a ____.
Sorry, that was Bret’s comment that got me writing- not Gene’s. I’ve witnessed the positive effects on the human spirit from interacting with non-human species. Is there ANYTHING more amazing than a bird?
PETA, you are so obvious that you really dont know the pigeon racing sports and you dont know how to care the bird, may be you are one of the many many people who do not love pet or bird.
why dont try to get in that kind of sport and then you say what kinf of pet lover you are..
YOU BETTER WAKE-UP!!!!!! Fought gamecocks for 28 years till liberal bleeding hearts got involved and shut down the sport state by state by state. I’ve been telling people for the last five years it’s coming to our sport but nobody listens. They just want a cause to raise money and we give them all kinds of wood to burn just look at your Pigeon Digest if you were one of them and you will see if not when you lose another sport you were just another helper of peta ans nhs
There are not many sports that can bring you closer to God and nature. The pigeon/dove position in the bible and human history is as close as any and in recorded times. Their benefit and usefulness to society has been reduced and now some wish it to disappear altogether. The sport has given me many hours, many years of entertainment and appreciation for God/nature and the way it operates.
Some orgs like PETA want to rewrite the rules of nature……..but it is a misguided dream to think that nature can be changed that much.
hiya Tom just wanna let you know i used you Quote!!
PETA WHO DO THEY THINK THEY ARE,this unjust and unfounded attack on us pigeon fanciers is madness,how can they say pigeons are mistreated and dirty when most if not all are provided with the best feed and meds we can afford which are of a very high standerd.this attack is just about publicity but there must be a better way of going about it, than draging the names of us fanciers through the mud.