The oldest domestic bird pigeons, once used as message conveyers, are now being used in racing filed in Bangladesh.
"Pigeon racing is the sport with a single starting gate and a thousand finish lines"- in short, competing birds are taken far away from their lofts and must race home.
The time taken, distance and velocity are recorded through electronic devices connected to their legs and the fastest bird is declared the winner.
Modern pigeon racing trend which originated in Belgium in the mid-19thcentury, entered in Bangladesh in the year of 2003.
Some pigeon fanciers came forward and started a club in Dhaka with an aim to develop racing pigeons there.
In 2012, Mostaque Ahmed & Late Moinuddin Ahmed formed a supreme organisation named ‘Bangladesh Racing Pigeon Fanciers Club’ (BRPFC).
Since then, many more clubs have come forward in this regard and they are participating in international competitions.
Pigeons of good bloodline from European fanciers and different auction site are being imported for pigeon racing. Good quality pigeon food and supplements are brought from renowned European company like Bayers Belgium, Versele-Laga.
Clubs are offering handsome prize money for the winners as well.
One of the pigeon fancier who participated in Saint Martin’s pigeon race claimed that they often face difficulties regarding pigeon race in the country.
Finding the best space for pigeons is extremely difficult as there are multi-story blocks all-around Bangladesh. Also, it is risky to rear pigeons as people tend to kill them for food, he said.
Despite all these risk factors, many more pigeon racers are coming forward and taking it as a profession because of its bright future.
