How Much!!! You Said?

 

In this Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2011 file photo, pigeons fly inside their coop at Pigeon Paradise in Knesselare, Belgium. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert, file) 

 

People who immerse themselves as cognoscenti of one kind or another, be it art, antiques, racing horses, jewellery, purebred prize-winning cattle, or for that matter champion-stock canines are often prepared to pay any price to obtain the symbol of their status in the field they relate to. But those fields can include vintage autos, grand mansions, and even, for example Belgian racing pigeons.

Pigeon fanciers really, really like pigeons. Two years ago a world record was set when a Belgium-bred Blue Prince pigeon was sold to a Chinese bidder at auction for a staggering $200,000. That represents quite a prestigious acquisition. Someone would have to be very well-heeled and very dedicated to the concept of owning world-class, registered champions of the pigeon variety.

But that $200,000 bid was far outstripped when a single bird was sold at auction in January 2012 for $322,000. There are those who simply cannot understand the valuation of a bird -- a pigeon, at that -- at such an amazing price. "I was stunned by the prices offered" at the latest Pipa (auction house) auction, said its CEO Nikolaas Gyselbrecht.

He was speaking primarily of a breeder who sold a Belgian pigeon named Bolt, at the top price of $410,000 to a Chinese businessman. The pigeon is one year old, and the nomenclature recognizes Jamaican Olympic superstar sprinter Usain Bolt's success on the world racing scene. In fact, nine of the ten top birds registered for this latest auction went to Chinese or to Taiwanese bidders.

Obviously, people with money to spare, and a hankering for pedigree, champion-stock birds. The casual reader can be forgiven for reminding him/herself of the Chinese penchant for exotic dishes, where money is no object to satisfy demanding culinary tastes. Ordinary mortals for whom the price of that pigeon represents the price of a very nice house-and-hearth, can only hope that a stove-top concoction will not be the fate of Bolt.

Who surely, as a champion-bred racing pigeon deserves far better.