A pigeon’s race

QUETTA: The domestic pigeon, once used as a medium of sending and receiving messages between armies and empires, is now mostly trained for marathons.

In Balochistan, different clubs organise a specific marathon for pigeons which race for the title. It is considered to be an expensive game and different kinds of the domestic bird are imported and trained.

A marathon started from Awaran district’s Jhao area with a finish line of a distance of 560 kilometres, which is their ‘homeland’ in Quetta. The champion of that race, the Blue Pearl, reached in five hours and 15 minutes, if calculated otherwise with a speed of 100km per hour.

Syed Zaheer Abbas Shah, regional secretary of Balochistan Pigeon Racing Club, told Bol News that he had been interested in pigeon racing since 2010. “Quetta is currently number one in pigeon racing because old pigeon racing enthusiasts are here. Now the interest has spread all over Pakistan. We have been racing for two years now. There is one season in a year with five to six matches.”

In winter, these matches start in December or January and end in February, he added. “Our racing club has 60 members, 40 of whom have competed this time. There are different clubs in which each club has five to six matches. Many people are interested in racing but cannot afford horses so this is a great hobby for them.”

The regional secretary further said that the domestic birds’ breeds are either imported or ‘well-domesticated’ in order to avoid the spread of any disease. “We find a cure for it. We have made history in Balochistan and released 2,100 pigeons simultaneously. Also recorded speed which was a minute sprint at 1,817 metres. The feeding of racing pigeons varies. They [are] also provided multivitamins.”

It’s an expensive hobby, but it’s growing, he commented. “One fan competed in the world championships this year and more will be competing in international competitions next year. Pigeons with good racing sell for a lot of money. Because many people are poor they [end up] selling them.”

Mohammad Amir Marri, a pigeon racing enthusiast, stated, “I have been fond of pigeon racing for three years now. It is a great achievement that this game has been started in Balochistan. Because nowadays gatherings have become very rare. This hobby is fulfilled even while sitting at home. Pigeon racing is a source for peace of mind.

“We welcome the youth of Balochistan in this sport. Earlier, there was little information on where and how to import birds. This game is not viewed in a positive way, but if you go abroad, this game is very popular,” he added.

In the past, pigeons were the means of communication, he elaborated. “In World War II, pigeons saved the lives of more than 150 soldiers through messaging. I am very much in favour of this hobby. The one who started it cannot leave it. And it’s a very cool game. In 2017, my partner and I imported some birds. Then we found some friends who guided us.”

Marri also said that he imported certain breeds of pigeons from England. “We import [them] through licenced business partners. There have been some problems in the past two years due to the coronavirus situation. A bird was sold for over Rs210 million in the United Kingdom.”

Many people have pigeons, but their training is important, he stressed. “There are [many] species of pigeons. Some are long flying birds, some are fast sprinting birds. We also plan to start long-distance sports in the future.”

Marri revealed that he had kept 90 pigeons in his house, each of which would cost him Rs15,000 per month. “And that includes just the food. It is up to you what kind of grain to feed the pigeon. Previously, supplements were not available in Pakistan at all. We order supplements from abroad which take up to two months to arrive.”

Rafy Marri told Bol News that Balochistan Pigeon Racing Club holds competitions every year. “We have held many competitions over the past two years. We also have the record of the fastest speed in all of Pakistan.

“We are now moving racing to an electronic timing system that is of international standard,” he claimed. “The bird is scanned and can be seen all over the world, through ETS. Under this system, we will conduct international competitions which will also be globally approved. These competitions are very popular internationally in Belgium and other European countries. The importance of these competitions will increase with the advent of ETS.”

Pigeon racing as a sport began in Belgium, where in 1818, the first long-distance race of more than 100 miles (160km) was reportedly held in 1820.