Despite animal cruelty: carrier pigeon racing to become intangible cultural heritage

No tribute for animal cruelty: carrier pigeon racing, which also includes pigeon races, is currently being promoted by the carrier pigeon association for inclusion in the Nationwide Register of Intangible Cultural Heritage of the German UNESCO Commission.

The North Rhine-Westphalia State Office for Intangible Cultural Heritage had added carrier pigeon racing as a new entry to the state inventory and nominated it for the Nationwide Register of Intangible Cultural Heritage. A decision on whether carrier pigeon racing will be included in the register is expected by October. As so-called carrier pigeon sport involves considerable suffering for the animals, PETA contacted the relevant bodies at the end of July: the German UNESCO Commission, the North Rhine-Westphalia State Office for Intangible Cultural Heritage and the secretariat of the Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs. In its letter, the animal rights organisation appealed to those responsible not to include carrier pigeon racing, which involves great animal suffering, in the Nationwide Register of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

«Using pigeons for races is not a cultural achievement but animal cruelty. Such bad habits should no more be honoured by UNESCO than bullfighting», says Peter Höffken, specialist adviser at PETA. «Tradition does not justify animal suffering either. We therefore hope that, in a modern society with moral principles and in a country where animal welfare has constitutional status, carrier pigeon racing will not be included in the Register of Intangible Cultural Heritage.»

Loss rates of over 50 per cent

In Germany, around 25,000 of the roughly 50,000 carrier pigeon breeders take part in races. An estimated 2.5 million so-called carrier pigeons live in German pigeon lofts. In «pigeon racing», the performance of the birds is the central focus; their welfare generally plays no role. In a study, Dr. med. vet. Warzecha et al. put the loss rates at pigeon races – that is, animals that do not reach their destination – at an average of 53 per cent.

According to a study by the Swiss animal welfare organisation (STS), the loss rates in the races examined in Switzerland stand at around 75 per cent. A 2012 investigation by PETA USA showed that at some European pigeon races as many as 90 per cent of the animals fail to reach their home destination. If the birds fall short of expectations and are unsuitable for further breeding, breeders often kill them without stunning.

PETA is calling for a ban on pigeon races. More on animal rights and on the animal welfare problem.

How it turned out: first rejected, then recognised after all

In December 2018, the German UNESCO Commission followed the protest of the animal welfare organisations and rejected the inclusion of carrier pigeon keeping. Among its reasons, it cited doubts about compliance with animal welfare laws. More on this in the follow-up report «Cruel ‹pigeon racing› will not become German UNESCO cultural heritage».

The Association of German Carrier Pigeon Breeders did not give up, however, and applied again in October 2019. In March 2022, on the recommendation of the expert committee, the Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs and the German UNESCO Commission decided after all to include carrier pigeon keeping in the nationwide register of Intangible Cultural Heritage. The justification given was that the association had opened itself to a dialogue with animal welfare organisations.

Animal welfare associations reacted with sharp criticism. The German Animal Welfare Federation spoke of a decision that ignored the fundamental animal welfare concerns: from breeding through husbandry, training and transport to the races themselves, the stress, suffering and death of the pigeons are inherent to the system. In the critics' view, this ennobles, under the guise of tradition, a practice in which a large proportion of the animals still fail to reach their destination. More on animal rights.