Animals - Carrier pigeon sold for 5,900 euros at auction in Dortmund
The most beautiful, the fastest, the most expensive: racing pigeon fans get their money's worth at Europe's largest exhibition at Messe Dortmund. The highlight of the two-day event with 130 exhibitors was an auction in which an animal from the German champion "Team Kallen" from Moers on the Lower Rhine fetched the top price of 5,900 euros on Saturday afternoon. The total proceeds of the auction were many times higher and will benefit research projects and aid campaigns in German racing pigeon breeding.
A total of around 1,000 racing pigeons were on display, including the 27 "super stars" of the German Racing Pigeon Exhibition (DBA). These birds will take part in the 2024 Carrier Pigeon Olympics in Maastricht in the Netherlands. The most beautiful female, the "standard female", and the male counterpart, the "standard bird", are owned by a breeder from Forchheim in Bavaria. The fastest birds are bred by the German champion "Team Kallen" from Moers. The most beautiful and fastest are determined in a complex process, with criteria such as overall impression, form and strength or musculature as well as kilometers flown (between 200 and 600) playing a role.
The Association of German Pigeon Breeders has around 25,000 members. In the boom times of the 1960s, there were more than 100,000. In Europe, there is still a comparatively lively racing pigeon scene in Poland, according to the association. Since last year, racing pigeons have been on the Unesco Intangible Cultural Heritage List. Nevertheless, the sporting use of racing pigeons is controversial: critics believe that the birds are exposed to considerable stress during races.
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Source: www.stern.de
