It was only recently that a racing pigeon sold for an incredible $1.4 million at an auction. The pigeon is thought to be the Lewis Hamilton of his sport and a bidding war ensued between two Chinese buyers that saw the price reach these incredible levels. This price has beaten the previous high sale price for a racing pigeon of just over $400,000. Pigeons have been used for many years as carriers as well as for racing purposes.
Since the early times when pigeons were used for carrying messages we have seen a development of the Royal Post Office. These small birds were able to carry small letters and certainly couldn’t help with any large parcels or your home removal needs. For this you are much better looking at Removal companies Essex way, and leave these little birds to their racing!
It is thought that the training of pigeons as well as other birds was undertaken by the Persians and then the Romans developed this further and used pigeons to deliver messages to members of the military. It has been reported that Julius Caesar used pigeons to carry messages to his generals during the conflict and subsequent conquest of Gaul. As well as the Romans using pigeons to convey military information the Greeks used the same birds to send message of the Olympic victors to their respective towns.
Pigeons were seen as the most sophisticated way to pass information from one location to another and stockbrokers and those who worked in finance favoured sending pigeons as a way to send stock prices across the city.
Pigeon Post was then established where the birds were used to deliver everyday post messages across a variety of industries and for everything from military information through to a message from one family member to another. It was the invention of the telegraph that then saw the use of pigeons decline as the newer method became more reliable and saw more jobs created for individuals.
Since these early days we have developed dramatically in the way in which we send information. The internet and the invention of emails and mobile phones with the capability of sending text messages as well as social applications such as whatsapp and snapchat, has led to a decline in the number of letters that are sent via traditional methods. Courier businesses however, have become more popular as a reliable and quick way to send items from one place to another, regardless of the timescale needed and the distance.
Pigeons have instead been used as racing birds and as the recent news has shown there is still an incredible amount of money and popularity in this sport.