PigeonTracker

Glad you and the birds are fine thats what counts.

The Phantom Flyer roger does a good job with his birds, and as fanciers ourselves we will never put couriers down who do. Holding a bird is not a problem for us and is often something a good courier has to do just to make sure the bird is both fit to travel and it helps to keep costs down.

ROFL; Some of the time, how polite of you Chris. ;D ;D ;D

Perhaps someone will beat me to it but I'm in regular contact with Defra and will check first thing in the week.

Your spot on that they can't trade under Amtrak or even as a franchise of them, what some are claiming are the fact they are simply offering an alternative, my advice is be careful with these types as they are mostly hauliers with little or no clue about carrying wildlife or fowl.

Knowning the boys they are going to be devastated like any of us would be, lets hope the community mentallity we have in the valleys will expose them and the Gill's can gently reverse one of their skips over their heads. >

With more bookings to confirm Jimmy it looks as if we'll be able to bring down the price to £30 per customer up to 4 Birds which is exactly what we promised. Just waiting on confirmation from the others and let all know. Always nice to have a surprise when it comes to pay when your told your paying to much and we give you a fiver back, every penny counts. And yes, we 100% care for the pigeons, they're what its all about, we're adamant that pigeons and heavy goods shouldn't be mixed even if it means saving a couple of pounds, lets think of the birds as well as our pockets.

There's not been an official press release that Amtrak have been taken over so any suggestion otherwise would be just a rumour.

Our pices are £35 for long runs but the more picksups per run means the price will probably come down, so for example, the Scotland run on Wednesday, if we get 10 drops on the price will drop £5 for all customers, if we get 15 on the price could go as low as £25 per customer which we hope is a benefit to the fancier. Our plan is to make you benefit the more you use us which can't be all bad. And lets face it, £25 for 4 birds from Wales to Scotland would be a heck of a good price in anyone's books.

Not seen weather like this in Wales for years, and its not getting better.

Just trawled through the Defra website and couldn't find anything either, perhaps a quick phonecall to them tomorrow could clear the question up.

;D Now we're adventurous for sure Flighty Hen but mad, nah. ;D

Try these, http://www.globalanimaltransport.com/ they send things as big as a rhino so I doubt a pigeon would cause them concern. You never know they may have contacts for smaller companies if they don't do it themselves. Hope this helps. Jamie

Mine do although I try not to use them. ;) ;) ;)

Excellent news all around, perhaps I should have said that we're probably the only dedicated pigeon courier that delivers throughout the UK? I might even be wrong on that one but I don't think I am? I'll try and be more clear in the future although I'm fairly sure most people are aware of their local couriers just not necessarily the ones that cover the UK. Like you I wish anyone success if they set up but only if they are dedicated to pigeons alone, sorry but these hauliers who've come into the frey to take advantage of Amtrak's demize have no place as far as I'm concerned but that's my own opinion and I'm sticking to it.

I'm not sure whether its because of this forum or word of mouth but we've had literally dozens of phone calls from furious people saying how angry they are that people who claim to be fanciers can even think about putting young birds for sale in the same van/lorry as ladders, floor cleaning fluids, heavy wallpaper boxes and anthing else you can think of that most hauliers will carry. I told them we're proud to be probably the UK's only dedicated pigeon courier service because we won't put anything else on our vans/cars/lorries other than the pigeons themselves, as a fancier myself I think the word 'precious cargo' should be given to pigeon status, they deserve more. Have you ever smelt a van that delivers turps or paint thinners etc, even though they're sealed they stink, if its enough to make humans sick just think of the birds. Jeez, need to get off my soap box here, it makes me so angry. At the end of the day its personal choice and I know all reputable fanciers will always choose dedicated, it shows they care about their birds. I'm also wondering if the other courier services drop their prices the more pigeons they deliver like we do, say for example Wales to Scotland, we start at a flat rate of £35 (example only) then we drop to £30 right down to £25 a pigeon if we get over 10 deliveries, that's what you call a service to pigeon fanciers, not all of us are in it for the money although that's nice.

It's late here now so will phone you in the morning to get more information from you ok. Thanks for your help. Jamie

Hi Jimmy, hope its okay to post a quick note that we're taking birds up to Scotland for a few members here next wednesday, the run takes in most of England on the way and a big part of Wales so feel free to let us know if anyone is looking to take advantage of this. Feel free to p.m me, I'd be happy to answer any questions. It might be worth noting that the more we get to take up or back for that matter, the cheaper its going to get for everyone which is what real pigeon transport should be about. Jamie

Your welcome Jimmy, its what we aim for, and not just for the honeymoon period some couriers are doing it for, I remember Amtrak did exactly the same when they started taking on pigeons, it was only a matter of time before they started taking liberties, probably why I'm so passionate we won't go the same route. I don't want to go off track so will post about Wales - Scotland run in a fresh post, once again thanks for the kind words.

The price is only per pigeon if they are to different areas. If they are to and from the same point then it would be one pric for up to 4 birds, say for arguments sake £30, then it would be something like £2.50 per bird after as long as they were going to the same place. Hope that helps. Jamie

But this is exactly the reason we've come into the fray. I saw the problems with Amtrak and I have to agree with the poster above you, pigeons deserve more than being bundled into the back of a van full of heavy goods and materials, often flamible, who knows. Pigeon Tracker are dedicated to Pigeons only, and if we have to put a seat belt on the bird to avoid it getting damaged or overly distressed we would. The more that use our dedicated service the wider the areas we are going to cover as it becomes more cost effective, an example being the trip to Edinburgh we're making in the next few days where we can do so because fellow pigeon fanciers are working together to allow us to provide this service at a rate no more than major couriers like Amtrak. I'm passionate about what we're doing and the care and safety of the bird is paramount. I have one thing over most people on this forum, I'm not only a pigeon fancier of more years than I care to remember, I've been in the delivery industry one way or another for many years as well, delivering anything and everything, and know that combining inanimate goods with livestock or fowl is a disaster waiting to happen. It happened with Amtrak it will happen with others. This is not casting aspertions on any J.Coopers of this world, they are probably very good couriers, I'd never heard of them until now but did do my homework on what they deliver. So I guess its up to you pigeon fanciers, you either have your birds delivered by a 'Jack of All' or a 'Master of one', I know which one I'd choose.

We can do that will speak via p.m

We don't think we're too big to come on to forums like this and talk with the 'Real' people of the pigeon world, its called progress. The one thing I can say is that we'll be around for a long time to come and don't wear stetsons. ;D

I was trying not to come in on threads like this as it seems like I'm pushing my own company, and in a way I am. I don't think for a second you should just turn up at a door expecting the finder or fancier to jump through hoops, its all about working with both parties to get a suitable and convenient time for both. We make a point of phoning the day before, and an hour or so before we think we'll reach our destination just to make sure we don't catch you out shopping, training your birds, or even in the bath for that matter. Its all about communication, sure it costs money, our phone bills are huge but that's a small sacrifice if we get to keep the fancer and finder happy and retain their custom. I for one would like to say that there IS life after Amtrak, and my company for one won't be going anywhere except forward, the more good people like many on forums like this recognise there are a few of us who have the resources to deliver the better we will get, this in turn will allow us to reduce our prices and everyone is happy. Working together is the only way forward in the long run. I'm betting on there being many short term fixes (wannabe couriers) but they'll soon see how expensive it is to run a succesful company and fade away, the serious players will grow and with your help grow for the benefit of the whole picture and not just our pockets. Sorry if that sounded like a rant, it wasn't, I just don't see it as being a big deal to show good old fashioned courtesy and customer care, something most who've experienced Amtrak know they never possesed. Jamie

There isn't really any difference, we take the pigeon from point A to point B, and more importantly as jimmy pointed out, in a reliable fashion. Last thing we want is to say we're coming one day, have you sit around all day waiting and then not turn up which is just one of the stories being told to us by a growing number. Should have mentioned we've also delivered new birds to customers in the past if that makes any difference.