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AGI – A mysterious Chinese buyer has won a carrier pigeon in Brussels for 1.6 million euros, breaking all records so far in this particular auction category. It is a female pigeon, called New Kim, it belonged to a well-known Belgian breeder, and was sold by the online sales house Pigeon Paradise (Pipe).
New Kim, trained in a well-known kennel in the Antwerp region (north), broke the record for another bird from Flanders, the male Armando, which sold for 1.25 million euros ($ 1.47 million) in 2019 in the same buyer.
The president of Pipa, Nikolaas Gyselbrecht, could not contain his astonishment: “I think it is a world record, there has never been an official sale at this price. I never thought that we could have reached this figure.” Maximum reserve on the name of the buyer, even if it is practically certain that the pigeon is intended for breeding. New Kim, whose starting price was € 200, is indeed a world distance champion: it has won several races in Europe, including the prestigious “Ace Pigeon Grand National Middle Distance” held in Chateauroux and Argenton-sur-Creuse, France.
For years in Europe birds have been bred that over time have gained world fame: they have become famous especially in China, where pigeon and pigeon competitions are a multi-million dollar business, capable of generating generous profits. On the Old Continent, racing pigeon breeding has ancient roots in Belgium, the Netherlands and northern France.
Traditionally considered a popular sport, bird competitions in recent decades had lost their luster, only to regain popularity thanks also to auction houses that sniffed at the deal thanks to the interest of Chinese and Saudi customers. Therefore, wealthy buyers from the Gulf and Asia have raised the price of European racing birds, possessing a particular instinct that makes them capable of flying hundreds of kilometers and then finding their way back to the nest. Gyselbrecht said there are 20,000 racing bird breeders in Belgium alone, destined almost exclusively for competitions around the world.
Kim was trained by Gaston Van De Wouwer and his son Kurt, at their farm in Berlaar, near Antwerp: on Sunday they sold not only her, but her entire herd for an undisclosed amount.
