Sun, Dec 06, 2020 page11

• ‘Like a drug’: Pigeon racing takes flight in Senegal

  • AFP, DAKAR
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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.

  

  Moustapha Gueye calls his racing pigeons back to their coop after their morning training in Dakar on Oct. 1.

  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.

  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.

  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.”
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