Germany: Club Sent More Than 5’000 Pigeons to Their Deaths

Despite forecasted heavy rainfall, local thunderstorm warnings, and strong gusts, on July 21st a total of 9’353 pigeons were released in Wels, Austria, and forced to cover distances of more than 640 kilometres to reach their home lofts in the Ruhr region — yet more than half of the birds never made it.

Due to deliberate animal cruelty, the animal rights organisation PETA filed a complaint against those involved, including the chairman of the organising and conducting club «Freunde der Ruhrgebietsflüge e. V.». The Bochum public prosecutor's office is now investigating the club from the Ruhr region.

Pigeon racing must be banned

«The those responsible knowingly accepted that a great many pigeons would die — such a brutal case of animal cruelty must have criminal consequences,» said Dr. Christian Arleth, lawyer at PETA. «Using birds for a possible prize and for reasons of prestige has no place in a modern society. Pigeon racing must be banned.»

Since in this competition the prize for place 4’001 could no longer be awarded, at least 5’353 birds did not return.

Loss rates of up to 90 percent

Around 25,000 of the nearly 50,000 racing pigeon breeders in Germany take part in competitive races. An estimated 2.5 million so-called racing pigeons live in German pigeon lofts. In “racing pigeon sport,” the focus is on the birds’ performance — their wellbeing generally plays no role. Studies and research show that loss rates in pigeon races average 53 percent, but can sometimes reach 75 to as high as 90 percent. More on animal rights and the animal welfare problem.