If you find one around your home, call the RSPCA or a rescue group.
PETA info on pigeon racing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SG_QHuhzXE
I don’t get why people have a hard time leaving animals alone. Or in cases where some intervention is needed to preserve the animal, they expect something in return.
Weird and shameful, imho.
I cannot speak for pigeons as I am a human, but if I was fed, watered, had a comfortable home, often with radio or TV, high quality medical care, and in return I fly a few times a week? Sign me up!
They are breed for the purpose of flight (or sometimes looks). They cannot be "left alone" as they're not quite the same as feral pigeons.
There is absolutely no shame in keeping pigeons, caring for them, and racing them.
It is true that some pigeons do not make it home. That's not to say that they have died, but perhaps got lost or "mysteriously" disappeared as in the article of this thread.
I agree that it large portions of pigeons were dying with each race that it would be terrible, but in practice this is often not the case.
Likewise, if pigeons fly home wounded their owners often stitch them up and care for them. If the wound is too much, then they can be unfortunately killed to remove the pain.
Compare this with feral pigeons ... The difference in "lifestyle" between them is stark.
However I do agree that, in the UK, the RSPCA are a fine organisation and would be my first port of call if I suspected mistreatment of animals.
As I commented above, if you find a racing pigeon there are websites where you can input the ID and get the club name that the owner belongs to.
> The pigeon’s fidelity can be exploited in a process known as widowing, or widowhood, in which the pairs are split up and one bird is taken away to race back to the loft.
> As Stewart Wardrop explains it, in a sprint race the stronger male birds will surge back to their hen and particularly their territory. But if the male birds are taken farther afield, they’re often tempted by pastures new.
> Now consider the attitude of the female birds: separate them from their cocks and they will fly determinedly back to their love over hill and high water. So it’s typically the females that are entered into the prestigious race back to the UK from Barcelona.
> After struggling to cross the Pyrenees, many of them appear to have their fidelity rewarded with an exhausted watery end in the Channel.
While I personally share your opinion, I wouldn't make our opinion a universal. 'theres no need..." is a bit stronger than I would say it because this wording sounds objective. Other people apparently do see the need.
For several decades, I have seen no need to eat birds or other land animals. While others have continued see the need. It's a difference of perspective.
Someone might say they _need_ to race the birds, and they might feel that in their bones to be true, but does that actually make it true?
I'd say no. There are lots of great hobbies that don't involve putting the animals in those stressful and potentially fatal situations, so someone making the claim that they need to do it just sounds like mental gymnastics to me, personally.
By declaring that something that someone enjoys doing for whatever reason is not necessary, in situations like this, one appears to be implicitly attempting to erode their right to do it.
Anyone can think of many things they do for fun which are not necessitated.
Perhaps it would be better to be more explicit, if that's how you feel: "Everyone should refrain from ...'