The Decline of our Sport, Quite Frankly it’s Frightening

I recently heard that Ian Evans the Chief Executive of the RPRA has made a projection on current figures and that in ten years the number of pigeon enthusiasts in England will be down to 6,000 unless there is a serious upturn.  Every fancier should be very concerned about this calculation. For years now it has been quite evident that the pigeon sport in the UK is dying. Many I fear have simply buried their heads in the sand or stuck their fingers in their ears, refusing to face up to the fact that in a few years the few of our younger generation of fanciers will have no one else left to compete against! I think back to the year 2000 when talking to one of the legends of North Staffordshire pigeon racing George Litherland after the death of Dennis Burton who was a close friend of mine and George said to me ‘’Mike we are the last of the Mohicans I’m afraid’’. Since that time George has also passed away and his words have proven to be completely accurate. I see that the RPRA have appointed a Development Officer and I applaud their choice as the young man that they have chosen is the ideal person for the job and I believe that if anyone can whip up some enthusiasm of the younger generation then Richard Chambers is the very man and I’m sure that we all wish him well in his very challenging quest because it will be very difficult to bring the children of today back to animals and pigeons instead of exercising their thumbs on computers and game boxes. The Midlands National started the plan and visited a good number of schools around the country and put in place a number of small lofts but in reality it was just a small drop into a very deep ocean. With this in mind I appreciate what a mammoth task he has signed up to but I wish ‘more power to his elbow’.

Harking back to Ian’s projection and if they are accurate then in reality it would have dire consequences for the whole future of pigeon racing within these shores. For instance how would the RPRA be able to function? Then to add on to this how would our two weeklies be able to continue? and for me it would be a disaster if we lost these two excellent newspapers. It just wouldn’t be the same without the good old BHW and the RP  and I believe that their disappearance along with the major shows because how could events like Blackpool and Doncaster carry on because soon the local village hall would provide ample room!

I never thought that I would live to see the day when the sport at local levels would cease to exist and if you doubt my words believing me to be guilty of sensationalism then think about it as many federations are struggling to survive as things are and goodness knows the impact that another ten years of decline will make.

One of the things along with old age that is seeing our ranks shrink is the RSPB’s stubborn resistance to taking raptors like the peregrine off their protected lists. Mother Nature has an excellent way of controlling wildlife and it is only the influences of us humans which tip this balance out of control with the many misguided decisions that we make. Peregrines are a fell and mountain species so having said that it is simply ludicrous that they are being encouraged on churches all over the country.

Don’t the RSPB realise that churches are for praying in and not for housing birds of prey!

I will close this piece by wishing Richard well in his new job and sincerely hope that the weight of trying to continue the future of our wonderful sport isn’t too heavy a burden for him to carry. We all need to help him by encouraging and helping any new comers into pigeons but when I hear of fanciers complaining and refusing membership to a local school’s loft because they are a few yards out of their radius I do wonder if such people really do deserve to have a sport to compete in.

Mike Lakin