Pigeon racing a sign of peace
On a muddy berm on the edge of a wheat farm about 160 kilometres south of Baghdad, a dozen flatbed trucks carrying $14 million in precious cargo slowly line up before dawn.
At first light, men with sticks and hammers begin banging on the cages stacked on the back of the trucks — rousing 14,000 pigeons into a frenetic and unruly chorus of deep coos and grunts. Moments later, at the blast of an air horn, the cages are opened in unison and the birds take flight, the force of 28,000 wings generating gusts of wind as the pigeons hurtle in a single direction: to Baghdad.
Six months of practice runs and strict conditioning culminate in a launch that lasts less than a minute. But the birds carry with them the hopes of men who have spent thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours training them. These are the high-flying pigeon races of Iraq.
From October to March, when Iraq’s sweltering summer temperatures have climbed down, thousands of Iraqis race their pigeons in contests that can stretch as far as 950 kilometres, from Mosul in the north to Basra in the south, competing for bragging rights, modest purses and the satisfaction of knowing they raised a champion.
Elite birds, which can fly up to 144 kilometres per hour, are much sought after, with racing pigeons from a coveted European lineage costing $5,400. One such bird sold at auction for $125,000 in Basra.
Astable of pigeons usually numbers between 50 and 100, with each prize bird requiring about $130 worth of feed, vitamins, herbal teas and omega-3 supplements per racing season to maintain peak fitness.
Pigeon racing, a sport on the decline in the United States and Europe, where it was developed, is taking off in Iraq. After nearly 20 years of conflict in the country, the rising popularity of pigeon racing is a signal that “our people want to practise peace,” said Kamil Khinyab, the 52-year-old undisputed godfather of pigeon racing in Iraq.
It is a peace that comes high above the perpetual gridlock, heavily armed soldiers and chaos of Baghdad’s streets. In their rooftop pigeon lofts, the hobbyists are in total control.
“If your pigeon wins, it’s only because of your efforts. If it loses, it’s because you need to do better raising it,” Khinyab said with a smirk.
The pigeon fanciers include medical doctors, academics, high-level military, police, and intelligence service officers and engineers. These are prestige professions, and judging from the investment required, this is not a sport for the riff-raff. Khinyab and his community of pigeon fanciers say they’re engaging in a cerebral and competitive gentleman’s sport.