Taiwan To The World Pigeon Game

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Oumar Johnson ducks to enter his cramped dovecote, built atop a city apartment block, and snatches his favorite pigeon from dozens of birds fluttering and cooing around him.

“This pigeon is called Super King,” he said, holding the bird proudly aloft.

The pedigree bird is the most expensive pigeon in Senegal, which Johnson bought at auction to inject a competitive edge into the country’s fledgling pigeon-racing scene.

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Taiwan is noted to be the nation with the largest number of pigeon racing events in the world, with an estimated half a million persons involved in the racing activity involving 2-3 million birds and prize money reaching billions of New Taiwan dollars (Wikipedia 2019). TOPigeon Fans Page, Taipei, Taiwan. This is TOPigeon fan page site for overseas partners and direct customers.

Photo: AFP

The 30-year-old scientist is one of a small but growing number of Senegalese who have fallen for the charms of breeding and racing homers, some to the point of obsession.

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Super King cost the equivalent of about US$800, a hefty price in a country where the minimum wage is about US$110 per month.

“We have a sort of addiction to this animal, the homing pigeon,” said Johnson, the president of the Senegalese Pigeon Fanciers Association. “It’s another way of life.”

Long established in countries such as Belgium, France and China, pigeon racing took off in Senegal only over the past decade, after ornamental bird breeders stumbled across the sport online, Johnson said.

The west African nation now boasts about 350 enthusiasts, many of whom ignore protests from family and loved ones, and devote most of their free time — and sizeable sums of money — to their pigeons.

Most, like Johnson, keep their lovingly tended birds in wooden dovecotes on rooftops in dense urban areas.

From his roof in a suburb of the capital Dakar, 40-year-old shopkeeper Moustapha Gueye releases scores of pigeons from their acrid-smelling loft.

They rush into the air and are quickly out of sight.

“They are athletes, so they need to train,” he said, adding that the pursuit demands time and brainpower.

He not only feeds and exercises the pigeons each morning, but he also handles veterinary care and develops cross-breeds suitable for flying in hot weather.

“It’s something that can’t be explained,” Gueye said, smiling as he describes his feelings when his pigeons return after a long race.

Senegal’s racing season, featuring nation-spanning contests, began in November after the end of the annual rains.

In late October, dozens of mostly young men brought crates of homers to a suburban Dakar rooftop to register them for a pre-season test race — one of several that took place that weekend.

Volunteers registered and tagged the birds in a lively atmosphere, joking and chatting until well after midnight.

Then, convoyeurs drove the tagged pigeons to the city of Diourbel, about 160km east of Dakar, to be released early the next morning.

“It’s like a drug,” said Johnson, who attended the pre-race registration, explaining the sport’s appeal.

Pigeon river state game area. The next day, race participant Mamadou Diallo was standing on his Dakar rooftop with several friends, scanning the crystal-blue skies for his pigeons.

The 33-year-old electrical engineer, a self-professed pigeon fanatic, was pacing back and forth in anticipation.

Suddenly a shout went up — pigeons appeared on the horizon.

Diallo, in excitement, skitted around the rooftop blowing a whistle and rattling a plastic bottle to lure the pigeons back into their dovecote.

He carefully noted their arrival times, which the race organizers would later compare with other pigeons that raced from Diourbel.

Afterward, a more relaxed Diallo described pigeons as his passion, but joked that his wife chastises him for wasting his time.

On top of work and family obligations, he fretted about his birds’ welfare.

“It’s normal because .. I put them in a cage,” Diallo said. “I am responsible for them.”

Senegalese pigeon-racing enthusiasts are eager to turn others on to the sport.

Young people are the future of the sport, Johnson said, adding that their devotion would make Senegal “one of the greatest pigeon-racing nations” one day.

“In Europe, you have to motivate young people to get involved,” he said. “Here, young people are rushing into it.”

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CHANNELS INTERNATIONAL AND GOVERNMENT INFORMATION OFFICE OF TAIWAN RENEW PARTNERSHIP FOR TAIWAN TO THE WORLD

(Washington, DC – 8 December 2008) National Geographic Channels International (NGCI) and the Government Information Office (GIO) of Taiwan announced today a long-term continuing partnership to further foster the development of high-definition (HD) documentary production in Taiwan through the co-funded, award-winning series Taiwan to the World.

Under this collaboration, Taiwan’s filmmakers will have the opportunity to produce up to nine hours of HD programmes for the international market through National Geographic Channels International’s global network in the next three years. In honour of this collaboration, a selection of Taiwan to the World films will also premiere on National Geographic Channel in the U.S. early next year.

Taiwan To The World The Pigeon Game

David Haslingden, CEO of National Geographic Channel, comments: “After the success of these films, we are especially thrilled to announce that two award-winning Taiwan to the World documentaries, The Pigeon Game and Black Bears Unleashed, will premiere on the National Geographic Channel in the U.S. next year. These films will offer U.S. viewers some unique stories little known to people outside of Taiwan”.

A separate announcement was made about a GIO-funded NGC Deaflympics documentary project, filmed in high definition. The 21st Summer Deaflympics will be held in Taipei, Taiwan, in September 2009 – a first for Asia. The Deaflympics documentary will premiere in Asia on NGC in 2010, coinciding with a U.S. premiere screening in Washington, DC, at Gallaudet University – a liberal arts university for the deaf and hard of hearing.

The announcements were made at the Twin Oaks mansion, once the property of National Geographic Society’s first president, Gardiner Green Hubbard, and later sold to the Taiwan government. Twin Oaks symbolises friendship between the U.S and Taiwan, but during the announcement, the meaning was more profound.

Taiwan’s Representative to the U.S., Jason C. Yuan, signed as witness during the official signing ceremony. He said, “Alexander Graham Bell, a founding member of the National Geographic Society, was Gardiner Green Hubbard’s son-in-law. Out of love for his wife, who was deaf, he dedicated his life to studying sound and working with the deaf. This year marks the 120th anniversary of both Twin Oaks and the National Geographic Society. What a perfect place and time to announce a continued partnership and the Deaflympics project”.
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National Geographic Channels International (NGCI) invites viewers to re-think the way they see television - and the world - with smart, innovative programming. A business enterprise owned by National Geographic Television (NGT) and FOX Entertainment Group, NGCI contributes to the National Geographic Society's commitment to exploration, conservation and education through its five channels: National Geographic Channel, National Geographic Channel HD, Nat Geo Wild, Nat Geo Adventure and Nat Geo Music.

Globally, National Geographic Channel (including NGC U.S. which is a joint venture of NGT and Fox Cable Networks Group) is available in 270 million homes in 166 countries and 34 languages.

Taiwan To The World Pigeon Game Part 2

For media inquiries, please contact:

National Geographic Channel International
National Geographic Channel Asia- Taiwan Office
Mindy Lee / Marketing Director
Tel: + 886 2 2734 3311
Cell : + 886 938 057000
Email : mindyl@ngcasia.com

Victoria Kirker/ Marketing & Communications Manager
National Geographic Channels, International
Tel: + 1 202-912-3204
Email: vkirker@ngs.org

Taiwan Economic & Cultural Representative Office in the U.S.
Eugenia Yun/ Executive Officer
Tel: + 1 202 895 1855
Email: yuyun@tecro.us

Jimmy Wang/ Executive Officer
Tel: + 1 202 895 1852
Email: kenglingwang@tecro.us