As regular CFZ-watchers will know, for some time Corinna has been doing a column for Animals & Men and a regular segment on On The Track... particularly about out-of-place birds and rare vagrants. There seem to be more and more bird stories from all over the world hitting the news these days so, to make room for them all - and to give them all equal and worthy coverage - she has set up this new blog to cover all things feathery and Fortean.

Wednesday 5 June 2019

The deadly odds of pigeon racing in the Philippines


MAY 17, 2019
by Cecil Morella
It is a brutal 600-kilometre gauntlet during which competitors face searing heat, wild seas, vicious predators, and the threat of kidnapping.
Only one in ten will finish.
This is the MacArthur competition—the Philippines' longest homing pigeon race. It's a tough challenge for the birds and a tense affair for the owners.
"Compared to Europe and the United States, we have lots of predators here and a lot of people who shoot these birds," said Jaime Lim, one of the Philippines' best-known pigeon fanciers—as the pursuit's devotees are known.
"Fishing nets are set up in the mountains to capture these birds. That's a major problem nowadays," the 68-year-old construction magnate added.
Racing pigeons can be worth thousands of dollars but some that are kidnapped are sold off to unscrupulous fanciers for as little as $14, Lim explained.


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