Pigeon Racing - Champions to Castaways

Pigeons are thought of pests, annoyances, and just generally dirty creatures. The affectionate name 'Rat with Wings' may hold true today, but pigeons were once our way of communication, war heroes, and companions. But while that may have gone by the wayside, there is still a collection of people that care for and respect the noble creature, and race them against each other.The racing of pigeons can feature up to 20,000 birds and travel over 11,000km, with some bird even getting lost, never to return. And one pigeon stands above the rest - Armando. A bird that had a transfer fee 10 times that of Neymar, the most expensive football move of all time.So take flight, shit on the heads of the people below you, and try not to get lost as we explore the world of espionage, science, and competitiveness of pigeon racing on our journey to find the wildest story from the world of sport.Sources:Australian Broadcasting Corporationhttps://www.abc.net.auArmando, the 'Lewis Hamilton' of racing pigeons, breaks auction https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30430252/https://www.pipa.be/sites/default/files/d6files/0184018_joel_verschoot_cataloog_en_digitaal_lr.pdfhttps://spotterup.com/operation-tacana-spy-pigeons-of-the-cia/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49692534https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/War-Pigeons/#:~:text=Some%20of%20the%20pigeons%20who%20received%20the,parachute%20jump%20with%20the%20agent%20carrying%20herhttps://youtu.be/4DkMVCzvgRghttps://www.pattayaoneloftrace.com/enhttps://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/pigeon-racing-china-intlPresenters:James WhybrowBen WhybrowCarlin SheavesMusic and cover art:Zoe Behrendt