August 8, 2024, 6:03 am | Read time: 8 minutes
Carrier pigeons are exploited and tortured for financial gain, according to many animal rights activists. Experts are also increasingly critical of racing pigeons. But how exactly do these competitions work? What training methods are being used and what effect do they have on the pigeons’ welfare? PETBOOK has investigated.
Pigeons tend to have a bad reputation. Often dubbed “rats of the sky,” they are unwelcome in many urban areas. Yet it was humans who made the domestic pigeon (Columba livia f. domestica) what it is today: a domesticated animal. Today, there are probably over 800 breeds worldwide. However, the so-called homing pigeon is not a special breed. This includes domestic pigeons, which were (originally) used to transmit messages. For instance, racing carrier pigeons are currently bred for competitive events. These competitions are increasingly being criticized for various reasons. PETBOOK asked both the German Animal Welfare Association and the Association of German Carrier Pigeon Breeders to comment on this.
Why do carrier pigeons carry letters?
Pigeons are social and have a particularly strong sense of location. This means that they can find their way back home to their partner, even over long distances. Historically, carrier pigeons were used to deliver important messages to remote areas. This practice, known as pigeon post, has a long history and has been used in many cultures at different times. This happened, especially before the development of modern means of communication.
How do pigeon racing competitions work?
In what are termed ‘sporting competitions,’ specially trained carrier pigeons compete against one another. From a starting point, which is often several hundred kilometers away, they are supposed to return to their home loft as quickly as possible.
The owner of the bird that returns to the starting point the fastest is awarded a cash prize. This is either a medal or a trophy. A winning pigeon can also have a considerable breeding value. The offspring of successful pigeons are often in great demand and can be sold for high prices.
To prepare racing pigeons for competitions, their owners — often the fancier — train them regularly. The training’s goal is to encourage the birds to return to their home loft swiftly and directly, without any detours. To achieve this, the owners make use of their sense of family and location, using the so-called “nest method” or “widower method”.
What lies behind the “nest” and “widower” methods
If you release an adult pigeon in a foreign place, it will find its way back to its home loft from any direction and distance – no matter what hardships and dangers it has to overcome.
During races, owners take advantage of the pigeons’ natural instinct to return to their nest or partner. Both the widower and the nest method are designed to ensure that the pigeons remain loyal to their original location and fly back to the desired place as quickly as possible.
- In the so-called “widower method“, the pigeons should return to their partner. As part of the training, the pigeons are repeatedly separated from their partner, which creates a longing in them.
- In the “nest method“, the birds are separated from their newly hatched offspring. They are then encouraged to fly back to their nest or nestlings as quickly as possible.
This is why animal rights activists criticize pigeon racing
According to many experts, both methods influence the behavior and well-being of pigeons. Lea Schmitz, spokesperson for the German Animal Welfare Association (Deutscher Tierschutzbund e.V.), emphasized at PETBOOK’s request: “Tearing the pigeon pairs apart or separating them from the nest creates psychological stress and suffering. This is animal abuse because the fidelity of the partner birds or the nestlings is exploited by the breeders. They are sent on a forced journey, so to speak.”
Mareike Kühntopp from the Verband Deutscher Brieftaubenzüchter e.V. takes a different view: “The behavior and well-being of the pigeons are not affected by either method. Even if a breeder uses the nest method, he usually separates the pairs at certain times to give them the necessary rest periods.”
Is the breeding and racing of carrier pigeons morally justifiable?
According to Lea Schmitz, it is not only the competition conditions and training methods used to prepare racing pigeons for prize races that are problematic. In her opinion, breeding and selection by breeders also pose animal welfare problems. She says: “It is a common practice to cull pigeons that fail to meet breeding objectives, among other reasons. Likewise, racing pigeon breeders discard pigeons after a few years that do not prove themselves in competitions”.
An accusation that, according to the Association of German Racing Pigeon Breeders, is not tenable. Mareike Kühntopp emphasizes that the breeding and use of racing pigeons is not an unreasonable burden for the birds. “Breeders tend to the racing pigeons daily throughout the year, often multiple times a day. Their lofts are cleaned regularly. Where the bird of prey population allows, they are allowed to fly around the house all day all year round.” Veterinary care also takes place regularly throughout the year. Vaccinations, the examination of droppings, and, if necessary, the examination of individual birds all take place.
How much psychological stress is involved in racing pigeons?
Racing pigeons have to cover long distances – sometimes more than a thousand kilometers (621 miles) – which pushes them to their limits. According to leaflet 121 of the Tierärztliche Vereinigung für Tierschutz e.V. (Veterinary Association for Animal Welfare), the birds must be able to fly long distances for around ten hours without a break, without risking their stress limit and excessive loss of body mass.
The Animal Welfare Act also prohibits demanding performance from an animal that it is unable to provide. Section 3 No. 1 TierSchG states: “It is forbidden to demand performance from an animal, except in emergencies, which it is obviously unable to cope with due to its condition or which obviously exceeds its strength.”
Mareike Kühntopp says: “In the summer months, the birds are meticulously prepared for the flights. Their health is closely monitored, and any slight deterioration prompts a visit to the veterinarian. Long-distance flights are not conducted during the peak of summer heat or other unpredictable weather conditions. If difficult flights do occur, they are reviewed and analyzed by a higher-level committee.”
However, a study indicates that stress levels are very high, particularly during long-haul flights. Racing pigeons have elevated cortisol levels before and after a flight and up to a month after the race.1 An additional stress factor for racing pigeons is the transportation to the venue and the long distance they have to cover during the race. Whether and in what form the owners ensure that the birds are able to cope with the long flights is questionable. The same applies to the effects of the competition flights in terms of stress levels for the birds.
Different data on loss rates
In addition, predators, storms, excessively high temperatures, and flying into wind turbines and electricity pylons also cause racing pigeons to die during competitions. Young birds, in particular, die either by flying away, by predators, from collision injuries, or exhaustion.
Exactly how many birds lose their lives during prize races? No reliable figures are available. One source assumes an average loss rate of 53 percent.2 In leaflet 121, the German Veterinary Association for Animal Welfare estimates the losses at 5 to 20 percent.3
It is difficult to record the returning and lost animals, says Lea Schmitz, who emphasizes: “There is often a lack of transparency or even an obligation to document”. In addition, pigeons that fly away join city pigeons. This would expose them to the constant stress of noise, exhaust fumes, and displacement, as well as the struggle for survival in the constant search for food.
Pigeon association: “Claims by so-called animal rights organizations not tenable”
However, Mareike Kühntopp from the Association of German Racing Pigeon Breeders says that many claims, “especially those made by so-called animal rights organizations”, are not tenable and do not correspond to reality. “When such organizations talk about loss figures, they carry out a simple calculation that compares the number of sets in different weeks, but they do not consider the reasons for lower set numbers in the necessary context.”
This is because breeders often leave one partner at home during the season in order to provide additional motivation for the supposedly stronger partner. “Injured pigeons or pigeons that return home late are, of course, not used for the next distance race. At the end of the season, younger breeders with families in particular often stop racing in order to go on summer vacation.” All these pigeons are not lost, of course. “They are at home, they are or will be fit again, but they are not being used.” However, this difference is not taken into account in the supposedly high loss figures.
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Animal welfare advocates call for greater transparency
In order to ensure animal welfare, Lea Schmitz would like to see stricter regulations and controls in the racing pigeon sport. In her opinion, the introduction of transmitters to make the pigeons’ journeys traceable and an obligation for documentation, including the recording and evaluation of loss rates and return rates, would make sense.
Furthermore, an additional tax should be levied on racing pigeons so that animal welfare organizations are not left with the costs incurred when they take in racing pigeons in need of help.