Wealthy Chinese have been snapping up contemporary art, top wines and some the world's most expensive cars. Now they're adding pigeons to their must-have list.
A Chinese shipping magnate spent $328,000 for a Dutch pigeon, a new world record according to Pipa, the Belgian firm that ran the online auction.
These aren't your ordinary birds that eat scraps in the park but ones bred for the arcane sport of pigeon racing, which has a cult following in England, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany and, increasingly, China.
The buyer, Hu Zhen Yu, runs Zhenyu Holding Group in Wenzhou. He told Pipa that he wants to "focus more and more on the pigeon sport." Zhenyu last year sponsored a pigeon race in Wenzhou that awarded $1.1 million in prize money.
Pigeon racing has traditionally been a rural pastime, and the entrance of wealthy Chinese hobbyists is ruffling some feathers.
"We must not forget pigeon racing is a simple sport to be enjoyed by all who wish to become involved for the right reasons," Ken Ambler, a pigeon fancier who took up the sport 70 years ago, wrote in a comment on Pipa's auction announcement.
