Is The Decline Universal?

[sapper756]

I have read a lot of articles in the pigeon magazines and on forums similar to this one, constantly reporting that our sport is in decline.

My question is, is this universal, ie, are the Dutch, Germans, Belgians, and other countries also experiencing this decline?

 

If the answer to this question is NO, then I pose another question, WHY NOT?http://forum.pigeonbasics.org/public/style_emoticons/default/sad.gif what are they doing that we are not?

 

Thank Youhttp://forum.pigeonbasics.org/public/style_emoticons/default/wink.gif

[THE FIFER]

dont know about Belgium but think its prety wide

[Guest redlad24]

well mate, from southern ireland, i am 25 have been in or around the birds since 98, and our club has lost members since then but has gained some the last few yrs, i think when young people do get them and then leave them due to college etc, when they get settled down again they get the bug back, dont think there is much of a decline over here compared to ye, our birdages in the fed has been increasing the last few yrs also with no additional clubs, our lorry was full 1 night this yr and had to get a loan of a trailer, so all positives

[Guest pigeonguy147]

well mate, from southern ireland, i am 25 have been in or around the birds since 98, and our club has lost members since then but has gained some the last few yrs, i think when young people do get them and then leave them due to college etc, when they get settled down again they get the bug back, dont think there is much of a decline over here compared to ye, our birdages in the fed has been increasing the last few yrs also with no additional clubs, our lorry was full 1 night this yr and had to get a loan of a trailer, so all positives

i really dont think its a universal trend when we have the likes of rspb breeding in captivity thats the problem as no other country lets goodie goodies rule the mps the way the uk does

[Guest lenwadebob]

All down to greed. No one seems to be prepared to give and take. WIN WIN WIN at all cost and everyone else. MONEY MONEY MONEY, it is killing this hobby. That's my opinion, Take It Or Leave It.

[Fly_caster]

well mate, from southern ireland, i am 25 have been in or around the birds since 98, and our club has lost members since then but has gained some the last few yrs, i think when young people do get them and then leave them due to college etc, when they get settled down again they get the bug back, dont think there is much of a decline over here compared to ye, our birdages in the fed has been increasing the last few yrs also with no additional clubs, our lorry was full 1 night this yr and had to get a loan of a trailer, so all positives

 

Point taken - but I do remember reading somewhere that almost everywhere the no.'s of birds are up, but that the no. of entering lofts are in decline. Basically, everyone is sending more birds than before, as opposed to more fanciers sending the same amount of birds.

[alex young]

Our club is like most others losing 1 or 2 members but the birdage staying approx. the same,this in our case is due to members now racing their hens,only a couple of seasons ago we didn't fill one hens basket but now are using 3 or 4.

[Guest bakes]

All down to greed. No one seems to be prepared to give and take. WIN WIN WIN at all cost and everyone else. MONEY MONEY MONEY, it is killing this hobby. That's my opinion, Take It Or Leave It.

 

you hit the nail on the head there bob to much greed and if there not topping club fed each week there mardy what about the flyers that are happy to send and time in totally different for the others if its not in clock and tops fed its not good enough and they spit there dummys out to many people wont to get off there high horse and start thinking aboot there birds there sending not the cards each week and money thats whats killing the sport to much greed FACT

[Guest peter4pm]

I can comment on Belgium as my friend stays there and he says both the fancy pigeons and the racing birds are in a bad way ..he hears of more and more fanciers giving the hobby up.

 

As for the uk ..i cant speak much about the racing side as im just getting into it , but my friend from my local club says it really is a dying game and i think im the first new member for ages.....Bob seems to have the right idea , theirs seems to be to many people out to make money both threw racing and selling birds at stupidity prices..and if thats not working for them ..they give up the birds at a drop of a hat ...these people my friends are not pigeon fanciers but merely glory hounds , and all the bickering that goes on as well between some socalled fanciers threw the racing and the fancy showing side too is a joke..you just need to read some of the forums and the child like arguing that goes on ...that says it all

 

no wonder nobody wants to come into pigeons when they've to put up with a minority bunch of bickering children ...mmmmm il stick to the playstation lol

[Guest bakes]

Bob seems to have the right idea , theirs seems to be to many people out to make money both threw racing and selling birds at stupidity prices..and if thats not working for them ..they give up the birds at a drop of a hat ...these people my friends are not pigeon fanciers but merely glory hounds , and all the bickering that goes on as well between some socalled fanciers threw the racing and the fancy showing side too is a joke..you just need to read some of the forums and the child like arguing that goes on ...that says it all

 

no wonder nobody wants to come into pigeons when they've to put up with a minority bunch of bickering children

 

SPOT ON.

[Guest stb-]

Read Bert Brasspennnfs article a month or so ago and he was talking about the mass decline in members , and think he said in 10 years time they wont be any or somthing to that affect

[Guest peter4pm]

STB i do think that could be a true fact buddy

[bewted]

I can comment on Belgium as my friend stays there and he says both the fancy pigeons and the racing birds are in a bad way ..he hears of more and more fanciers giving the hobby up.

 

As for the uk ..i cant speak much about the racing side as im just getting into it , but my friend from my local club says it really is a dying game and i think im the first new member for ages.....Bob seems to have the right idea , theirs seems to be to many people out to make money both threw racing and selling birds at stupidity prices..and if thats not working for them ..they give up the birds at a drop of a hat ...these people my friends are not pigeon fanciers but merely glory hounds , and all the bickering that goes on as well between some socalled fanciers threw the racing and the fancy showing side too is a joke..you just need to read some of the forums and the child like arguing that goes on ...that says it all

 

no wonder nobody wants to come into pigeons when they've to put up with a minority bunch of bickering children ...mmmmm il stick to the playstation lol

 

 

as i said many tmes,,,,fanciers are there own worse enemies !!

[Guest peter4pm]

exactly mucker

[PATTY BHOY]

always be people racing pigeons

[Guest mick bowler]

Not in decline in this part of the world but still a struggle and against the tide.

 

I believe it is now, on the whole, an unfair hobby not like it once was. Years ago money didnt seem to play a part too much. There were great flyers, and most had one thing behind them..... money. There are the ones that didnt but mainly they did, but this was a minority in most clubs, and some clubs/fed were never affected. Then came "The Belguim revolution", All of a sudden dozens of new strains and systems appeared. Anyone slow on the uptake suffered and got left behind. A lot adopted (and still do)the mentality of "tring to keep up with the Jones", and I know flyers that appeared from nowhere to become top flyers, mainly because they were on widowhood, (when i was still trying to spell it) and piled unheared of amounts of money in buying new birds in! The money started to appear everywhere, and so the stakes heightened, until what the sport has transformed into today.

 

People look at the Chinese, the Taiwanese etc, but what we do not realise is that this is basically a mirror image of what has happened in our waters over the last 30 years, except theirs involves a lot more money. The rush for the "top strains" throwing money at what is the next miracle with two wings, or the winners from the bottle mentality! They have taken it to the extreme admittedly but we are no better and the only difference is in the east it is a rich mans sport and thats how it will be here in years to come.

[Guest Owen]

I do not think that the problem is entirely money driven. If you are stupid enough to buy birds from the Studs and their like you can pay a lot of money but there is no need to do that. 50 years ago there was a lot of money to be made but it came from the racing then and not so much from sales.

These days people are allowed to send huge numbers of birds in the hope that they can find a winner. Hardly any are pooled and the aim is to be able to sell to make money that way. Surely we would be better off if we put a stop to all that and enforced limits on birdage as thet used to do years ago. The Club I flew in had a 12 bird limit and everyone pooled there birds so there was quite a bit of money to share out.

Then there are the Public relations. This sport is like the Secret Society because, other than Fanciers, no-one knows anything about it. Again, years ago there was always a section in the local Paper which printed the Club results for the whole area. It was one of the things that I used to read before I knew anything about the Sport. Our Sport must be the worst in the World at publicity.

I am sure that the Sport could be made popular again but there will have to be a heck of a lot of work and money invested before it is back on the up. We must get rid of the mob flyers, lazy officials, and people who bring the Sport into disrepute.

We must invest in publicity, Public education, and various competitions involving Schools and Public events, and encourage the younger people to take up positions to take the Sport forward.

[Guest IB]

Decline is universal in all sports, doesn't seem to matter what that sport is, and reason is same. Nothing at all to do with the sport itself and everything to do with what interests young people, and the present interests are technology. Younger generations live in a switch-on, switch off world where success is instant and comes at a push of a button. You can't switch pigeons on or off, and few have instant success with them. The faults mentioned with the pigeon sport pale in significance and don't really matter, cos techies are just not interested in pigeons, we don't push their buttons.

[Guest peter4pm]

good point IB