Three people have been arrested in the Netherlands on suspicion of stealing or receiving 26 homing pigeons from a Belgian pigeon enthusiast.
According to a police statement, officers pulled the three stopped while traveling on a road in the country’s south and discovered the pigeons in a basket.
The three suspects, a 47-year-old Ukrainian man and a 57-year-old Ukrainian woman, as well as a 32-year-old Rotterdam guy, were unable to explain what they were doing with the pigeons.
Although they claimed the birds were from Poland, the rings around their legs showed they were from Belgium and allowed police to contact the owner.
Once he checked his pigeon loft he reported that he was missing 26 pigeons and officers were able to return them.
European homing pigeons have become a prized commodity on the international market in recent years, particularly in China, where massive amounts of money are bet on their journeys.
The breeding and racing of pigeons has long been a tradition in Belgium, the Netherlands and northern France.
In 2020, a Belgian-raised homing pigeon fetched a record €1.6 million (R28.4 million) at auction.
