A veterinary releases a pied imperial pigeon after being vaccinated
against avian influenza at the Mulhouse zoo, eastern France, on
November 6, 2020. PHOTO: SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP
An unidentified Chinese buyer on Sunday paid a
world record 1.6 million euros ($1.9 million) for a female homing
pigeon called New Kim, online auctioneers Pigeon Paradise (PIPA)
said.
The sale beat the 1.25 million euros paid for male pigeon
Armando last year, according to PIPA.
New Kim, a well-bred two-year-old from a renowned Antwerp loft,
was put up for auction at just 200 euros.
“I believe it’s a world record, there has never been an
officially documented sale at such a price,” PIPA chairman
Nikolaas Gyselbrecht told AFP.
“I didn’t think we could reach that amount.”
The buyer, who was not named, “will probably want to breed her”,
he added.
New Kim won the 2018 crown as “Ace Pigeon Grand National Middle
Distance” in competitions held at Châteauroux and
Argenton-Sur-Creuse in France.
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Top European birds have won global fame in recent years and
particularly in China where pigeon racing can generate huge
winnings.
Wealthy buyers from the Gulf and Asia have forced up prices for
champion birds for their instinctive ability to fly as many as
hundreds of kilometres (miles) and still find their way back
home.
Pigeon fancying is rooted in Belgian and Dutch life with the
tradition spreading over to northern France.
The sport had been considered in decline until auctions started
showing serious prices for potential champions and proven
winners.
Gyselbrecht said Belgium alone counts 20,000 breeders for racing
birds destined to take part in major competitions.
New Kim was trained by father and son Gaston and Kurt Van De
Wouwer at their world-class loft in Berlaar, near Antwerp. They
sold their entire “collection” of pigeons on Sunday.
AFP
Read more https://swordpress.com.ng/2020/11/16/pigeon-sells-for-record-1-6mn-euros-to-chinese-buyer/