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Chinese Buyer Pays $200,000 for a Pigeon
inspector_monkfish
Posts: 9,276 Forumite
09:56 14Jan11 WSJ BLOG/China Real Time: Chinese Buyer Pays $200,000 for a Pigeon
From The Wealth Report:
The rich around the world tend to gravitate to the same status symbols: mansions, yachts, art, private jets and wine. Despite the increasingly global nature of the rich, their spending seems to be becoming increasingly homogeneous.
Now comes newsthat the Chinese may be breaking the mold with a new form of trophy purchase: pigeons.
A rich Chinese buyer paid $200,000 for a racing pigeon at a Belgium auction yesterday, setting a new world record. The bird's name was Blue Prince, and he was one of the highly pedigreed Belgian racing pigeons that have long been considered the gold standard in the pigeon racing world.
One 218 bird-colony fetched $1.8 million at the same auction.
For the uninitiated, pigeon racing has a long and storied historyin Western Europe. The sport dates back to the Romans and Charlemagne, who made pigeon-raising the exclusive privilege of nobles. Legend has it that the Rothschild family benefited from a pigeon bringing news of the British victory at Waterloo.
In today's races, pigeons are launched hundreds of miles from their home, or "loft." The first birds back win the race.
The sport has taken off in Asia, and especially China, which loves any kind of race that creates a betting opportunity. The races have also become big sponsored events, like horse racing in the U.S., and can bring big pay-days for the the winners.
I asked Karen Clifton, executive director of the American Racing Pigeon Union Inc., why racing pigeons has never caught on among the U.S. rich.
"We have some wealthy members," she said. "But most of our members are what would be considered middle class." She said the membership includes mechanics, teachers and retirees as well as the occasional doctor or judge.
She said prices in the U.S aren't nearly as high as China. The record paid for a bird in the U.S. is probably around $25,000, she said.
Ms. Clifton speculated that the reason pigeon-racing hasn't taken off among the American rich is that most Americans still think of pigeons as city scavengers -- what Woody Allen famously called "rats with wings." She also said government ordinances restricting pet ownership and flights have been an obstacle. She said Asian governments actually allow and encourage pigeon-racing, which makes it more popular.
Perhaps Mike Tyson can bring pigeon-racing some cache with his new pigeon-racing show.
From The Wealth Report:
The rich around the world tend to gravitate to the same status symbols: mansions, yachts, art, private jets and wine. Despite the increasingly global nature of the rich, their spending seems to be becoming increasingly homogeneous.
Now comes newsthat the Chinese may be breaking the mold with a new form of trophy purchase: pigeons.
A rich Chinese buyer paid $200,000 for a racing pigeon at a Belgium auction yesterday, setting a new world record. The bird's name was Blue Prince, and he was one of the highly pedigreed Belgian racing pigeons that have long been considered the gold standard in the pigeon racing world.
One 218 bird-colony fetched $1.8 million at the same auction.
For the uninitiated, pigeon racing has a long and storied historyin Western Europe. The sport dates back to the Romans and Charlemagne, who made pigeon-raising the exclusive privilege of nobles. Legend has it that the Rothschild family benefited from a pigeon bringing news of the British victory at Waterloo.
In today's races, pigeons are launched hundreds of miles from their home, or "loft." The first birds back win the race.
The sport has taken off in Asia, and especially China, which loves any kind of race that creates a betting opportunity. The races have also become big sponsored events, like horse racing in the U.S., and can bring big pay-days for the the winners.
I asked Karen Clifton, executive director of the American Racing Pigeon Union Inc., why racing pigeons has never caught on among the U.S. rich.
"We have some wealthy members," she said. "But most of our members are what would be considered middle class." She said the membership includes mechanics, teachers and retirees as well as the occasional doctor or judge.
She said prices in the U.S aren't nearly as high as China. The record paid for a bird in the U.S. is probably around $25,000, she said.
Ms. Clifton speculated that the reason pigeon-racing hasn't taken off among the American rich is that most Americans still think of pigeons as city scavengers -- what Woody Allen famously called "rats with wings." She also said government ordinances restricting pet ownership and flights have been an obstacle. She said Asian governments actually allow and encourage pigeon-racing, which makes it more popular.
Perhaps Mike Tyson can bring pigeon-racing some cache with his new pigeon-racing show.
Please take the time to have a look around my Daughter's website www.daisypalmertrust.co.uk
(MSE Andrea says ok!)
(MSE Andrea says ok!)
0
Comments
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I think the Queen is a pigeon racist or racer or whatever it is.0
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no, its philip who is the racist....Please take the time to have a look around my Daughter's website www.daisypalmertrust.co.uk
(MSE Andrea says ok!)0 -
no, its philip who is the racist....
Lizzy is the bigot :eek:'In nature, there are neither rewards nor punishments - there are Consequences.'0 -
My red-winged blackbird and starlings race did not start that well in Arkansas.
How was I suppose to know you are not meant to use large fireworks as a starting sound?0 -
The rich Chinese buyer intends to rent out the pigeon to gain experience of Buy To Let before he snaps up half of London.0
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inspector_monkfish wrote: »Legend has it that the Rothschild family benefited from a pigeon bringing news of the British victory at Waterloo.
It's the pigeon illuminati. Buy gold.0 -
There is big money to be made in pigeon racing. always has been.
People have been spending this sort of money on pigeons for years."The problem with quotes on the internet is that you never know whether they are genuine or not" -
Albert Einstein0 -
My neighbour kept pigeons. Then he went into a home ... and all his birds were released. It must be 4 years on and they're still all sitting on the roof of the house over the road 24/7 making a lot of noise and pooing everywhere.0
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