At what he paid for that bird, he better save all the droppings.
THAT’S A PRICEY PIGEON! CHINESE MAGNATE PAYS WORLD RECORD $328,000 FOR BIRD AT INTERNATIONAL AUCTION
By Leon Watson
Mail Online
February 3, 2012
A sky-high price has been paid for a pigeon making it the most expensive on record anywhere in the world.
Chinese shipping magnate Hu Zhen Yu splashed out a world record $328,000 for the Dutch bird, according to an international pigeon auction house.
Belgium-based PIPA, short for Pigeon Paradise, said the bird was one of 245 put up for an online auction by Pieter Veenstra of the Dutch village of Drachtstercompagnie.
The auction total take of $2.5million was also a record, PIPA said.
Mr Hu runs a shipbuilding company in China and is the owner of a South China pigeon-racing group.
He told PIPA he intends to increase his focus on the sport, which is popular in the UK, Belgium, Holland and Germany.
Mr Hu also said he wants to breed the female pigeon rather than race it.
PIPA owner Nikolaas Gyselbrecht noted in a 2010 interview a growing interest in pigeons by Chinese buyers.
PIPA, which sent representatives to pigeon exhibitions in China last year, also boasts on its website that prices for pigeons are soaring.
But that has led to some concern in the sport.
Ken Ambler, a British pigeon fancier told the Telegraph: 'We must not forget pigeon racing is a simple sport to be enjoyed by all who wish to become involved for the right reasons.'
Mr Ambler said the sport he took up 70 years ago was transformed with expensive birds now 'housed in luxury' compared to 'the basic orange box lofts of yesteryear'.
The previous top-selling pigeon was Euro Diamond, an eight-year-old retired Flemish pigeon famed for long flights. It sold for $225,000 in November 2010.
No comments:
Post a Comment