Racing pigeon from Tamil Nadu surfaces in Telangana, causes flutter

According to sources, pigeon racing is a popular sport in Tamil Nadu which has around 40 clubs operating throughout the State using android based apps

Khammam: A racing pigeon, said to be of Tamil Nadu origin, surfaced in Khammam district causing a flutter among local residents on Thursday.

The blue rock pigeon with tags having certain codes wrapped to its legs was spotted by a farmer, Gantala Satyanarayana at his residence at Mamunur village of Yerrupalem mandal. The villagers, who got suspicious at the tags on the bird, gathered to watch it.

The farmer handed over the bird to gram panchayat secretary Srinivas, who in turn handed over it to the local Sub-Inspector of Police (SI) M Suresh. There were a couple of stampings on the bird’s feathers reading ‘Delta 1000 KM’ and Tamil Nadu Racing Federation.

When contacted, SI Suresh said the bird might have strayed off its course and landed at Yerrupalem. According to him, the bird might have been released at Vijayawada or any other nearby town by a pigeon fancier.

According to sources, pigeon racing is a popular sport in Tamil Nadu which has around 40 clubs operating throughout the State using android based apps. It is the sport of releasing specially trained homing pigeons, which return to their homes after travelling a specific distance.

Homers or homing pigeons are a breed of pigeons that flows back to their homes from long distances. The birds are trained when three months old with trial runs starting with a range of two kilometres up to 70 kilometres. They are fed a nutrient-rich diet to build stamina.

Though the clubs do not reveal how many pigeons are lost forever during training and never return home during the racing, it is estimated that only 60 percent finish the race as their fate en route is uncertain. In view of that many animal protection groups oppose pigeon racing.

Pigeon racing clubs are also operating in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and other States.