Some 20,000 pigeons have disappeared after being released as part of an international race in the French town of Narbonne. “These pigeons should never have been released“, said the Belgian Pigeon Federation. Due to the storm and bad weather conditions, a large number of pigeons did not find their way home. The Belgian Pigeon Federation met in an emergency session on Monday afternoon.
The organization will probably not be able to organize flights next year
“It is a disaster“, said Jef Cuypers, of the Belgian Pigeon Federation, pointing to the organization of the race. “The fault lies with the Independent of Liège, which organizes the race. We still don’t understand why they released the pigeons. This disaster will have consequences. The organization will probably not be able to organize flights next year.“
A total of 26,000 pigeons took part in this race, including around 11,000 Belgian pigeons. The Belgian Pigeon Federation met on Monday afternoon to discuss how to avoid such problems in the future “We want to use webcams and contact points, in order to be in contact with experienced fanciers who can give us information about the weather in each province. We would also like to work with a meteorologist.“