Pigeon breeders send birds to their deaths

An investigation by PETA USA published today in Germany shows how pigeon breeders send pigeons to their deaths en masse at the annual South African Million Dollar Pigeon Race (SAMDPR) near Johannesburg.

Around one quarter of all birds entered in South Africa come from German racing pigeon breeders — more than from any other country. According to race statistics, of 859 pigeons initially listed from Germany, a total of 667 birds were “lost” during the races. The loss rate of all pigeons submitted by German breeders that were used in the final race in February 2020 or the training flights held beforehand amounts to 78%. The domesticated animals were stranded in the South African wilderness, died of dehydration or exhaustion, sustained injuries, fell victim to predators, or fell ill. Because many of the birds used in competitive flights within Germany also die or become stranded in cities, the animal rights organisation PETA has now written to Federal Agriculture Minister Julia Klöckner calling on her to ban competitive pigeon racing and participation in such events abroad.

Driven by greed for prize money and prestige, pigeon breeders in South Africa send so many birds to their deaths year after year that it amounts to a massacre — and breeders from Germany are right at the forefront of this unscrupulous business. The federal government must finally put an end to the exploitation of pigeons.

Peter Höffken, policy advisor at PETA.

Over half of the birds never reach their destination — breeders are well aware of the high loss and mortality rate

In the approximately 600-kilometer final flight alone on February 1st, only 191 of 403 "German" pigeons reached the destination. This corresponds to a loss rate of over 50 percent in a single flight. Among the top 30 finishers of this flight, nine participants from Germany can be found. The high loss rates come as no surprise to the breeders: according to statements obtained by PETA, one German participant estimated before the final flight that fewer than 500 of the 1,548 pigeons entering the race would reach the destination. This year, the organizers even extended the distance of the final flight at the last minute to nearly 600 kilometers, despite some participants expressing concerns about the predicted extreme temperatures. Tim Rutkowski from Düsseldorf, the highest-placed German pigeon breeder, calls the event the “hardest race in the world.” He received 75,000 US dollars for finishing in fourth place.

In 2020, pigeons from a total of 36 countries were sent to South Africa for the race. Most of them died, many already during quarantine. Baby birds, some just four weeks old, spent a month in quarantine in their country of origin before being flown to South Africa in cramped crates. There, the stressed birds were again placed in quarantine. Since all imported animals were housed together in a single loft, pathogens could spread easily and be transmitted to wild and captive birds alike. Some of these include viruses that can also infect humans, such as the causative agents of avian influenza and Newcastle disease. A senior trainer on site stated that up to 1,200 pigeons had died in quarantine: “There’s nothing you can do. You go in with a bag, pick them up, and throw them in the trash.”

Horrendous loss rates documented in Germany as well

A study puts loss rates at pigeon racing competitions at an average of 53 percent per season. [3] When birds fail to meet expectations and are deemed unsuitable for further breeding, breeders often kill them in ways that violate animal welfare laws — by pulling on the pigeons’ necks or twisting their heads — all without any anesthesia.

Racing competitions increase pigeon populations in cities

In Germany, about half of the nearly 50,000 racing pigeon breeders participate in competitive flights. An estimated 2.5 million so-called racing pigeons are kept in German lofts. Urban pigeon populations are constantly replenished by birds that have gone astray during competitive flights and their offspring. There, the animals have poor chances of survival due to their conditioning to specialized food and their domestication. These “stranded” birds — whose reproduction rate is high due to selective breeding — are exposed to numerous dangers and often live on the brink of starvation in cities.