You can’t share in the stakes with mediocre pigeons, which is why some fanciers cheat. Last year, an East fancier claimed his birds were deliberately poisoned.
Reports of racing pigeon thefts aren’t new. We’ve heard of a school pupil pinching a neighbour’s exhausted pigeon when it pitched on the roof at night, and returning it the next day for a reward. Stealing an occasional egg from a buddy’s breeders was considered a joke. A naïve fancier who showed pigeons to strange visitors found valuable eggs missing afterwards, and that wasn’t funny.
There’s also the true story of a thief who stole the wrong bird and swapped it the next night for the right one. All thefts are criminal but they’re often also malicious. fancier who catches an “enemy’s” stray might kill it. Malicious theft is also committed out of envy. I know of an attorney who boasted about how he’s going to foreclose on a fancier’s racing pigeons as they were the only assets available
humiliate him, he was going to wait until basketing day to hand over the papers. Reportedly pigeons stopping over for water on a farm dam in the Free State were targeted and clubbed down when they dived into the dam during a race. The thieves explained their motive was hunger. It fills me with horror to think of someone’s prime racing pigeon, carefully bred and prepared for a race event, getting clubbed and eaten.
Theft out of greed
If you thought greed was a prime motive for theft, you were right.
- A fancier told me how another fancier (an ex-chairperson) trapped a stray and hid it, using it for free breeding stock.
- A schoolteacher trapped a stray and sold it in a joint deal with other pigeons, fraudulently offering its “brother” as a back-up for R2 000. He was caught out but lightly punished – which creates another problem.
- A number of fanciers race strays in an attempt to win money (and prestige).
- Three pigeons valued at R5 000 to R10 000 each were stolen from the public auction of West Rand champion Cassie Matthee.
- Three reputable fanciers have accused another fancier of killing about 30 birds in his loft to claim the insurance. One witness was assaulted and hospitalised and three more threatened with murder. The insurer’s attorneys offered the file to our SA National Pigeon Organisation for internal investigation but they refused to get involved because it fell outside the mandate of their constitution.
- Fanciers misuse the Voetstoots clause, knowingly placing infertile birds on auction. I’ve personally fell victim and am busy bringing this crime to the attention of the authorities.
Pigeon theft: an inside job
A thief from outside the pigeon community can’t sell a stolen pigeon because it has a identity ring on its leg, without which its pedigree can’t be verified, eliminating its cash value. A buyer won’t buy an unidentified bird from a non-fancier. Most thefts therefore occur within the pigeon community or through friends or agents.
