Animals: Pigeons In Peoria

In the modern world, pigeons serve small purpose.

Electrical communications have made carriers, with freak exceptions, obsolete. The lively sport of live-pigeon shooting is now generally illegal. The decline of the pigeon's utility has stimulated pigeon breeding as a sport. Leaving out pigeon racers, who breed, train and fly homing pigeons, and professional squab farmers, who rear pigeons for the table, there are more than 17,000 pigeon fanciers in the U. S. whose hobby is raising pigeons for shows. Last week, 8,000 fanciers and spectators and about half that many birds, worth $50,000, were in...

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