Meet Armando, the world’s most expensive racing pigeon. His new owner paid €1.25m for him
MEET ARMANDO. He is five years old, looks alert—thanks to some striking red eyes—and has a neck coloured with vibrant green and pink streaks. He is also a champion. In the past year he has won the equivalent of national, European and Olympic gold medals. When put up for sale online, he attracted interest from all around the world, as well as his native Belgium. His new, Chinese owner paid €1.25m for him, more than three times the previous online-auction record.
Pigeon-racing has its roots in Belgium, where the first long-distance races were held in the 19th century and where colombophiles were common. The reputation of Belgian birds as the world’s finest is a consequence of myriad generations of breeding and careful handling. But the biggest market for prize pigeons is China.
What is clearer is that Armando’s days of long-distance flying are over. Racing is dangerous, even for experienced birds, and expensive pigeons bought at auction are often not risked again. Armando’s value lies in his genes. He will be matched with a pedigree hen, in the hope that his offspring prove similarly adept. Seven of Armando’s descendants were sold in the same auction as he was, raising over €150,000.
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