Wednesday, August 27, 2008 Cebu businessmen raise birds for fun, inter-island racing By Nancy R. Cudis Sun.Star Staff Reporter
MOST women have to invent various ways to persuade or coerce their husbands to engage in hobbies (like gardening and cooking) that would enable them to spend more time at home and bond with the children.
But not the wives of 30 men, mostly businessmen, who have found joy in raising and racing pigeons. Like the pigeons that are known for their homing instincts, members of the Metro Cebu Racing Pigeons Association (MCRPA) have opted to stay at home.
While tending and racing pigeons are mainly for recreation, MCRPA members see plenty of opportunities for business.
MCRPA treasurer and STK Electronics manager Theodore Chiong Sy, for one, sells pigeons to fellow members. He imports his pigeons from Manila, Belgium and Taiwan.
Sy said that a pigeon, depending on breed, would cost “several hundreds to several thousands of pesos each.” In his case, he paid about P10,000 for every bird he bought from Manila and about P20,000 for those from overseas.
Loft
These pigeons are then housed in lofts, which would cost the owners “another several thousands of pesos,” depending on size and number of pigeons to be accommodated.
Sy said the small and simple loft for his 51 racing pigeons and 19 pairs of breeders is ideal for beginners.
MCRPA president Benny Lim of Yale Hardware and vice president Jojo Oquias of Agrianimal and Aviva Agrivet installed lofts worth more than P100,000 each to shelter 100 to 251 pigeons, separately.
MCRPA member Roberto Abarintos said taking care of pigeons and racing them is not only the hobby of the rich. This activity can also be participated in by all as one can raise a few pigeons and install a small loft, he added.
Oquias, who shares the passion for pigeon racing with 22-year-old son Miguel, said the activity is also a “clean hobby” for young adults.
MCRPA members sell racing pigeons to each other at prices ranging from P500 to P20,000, each, depending on the breed.
Races
But Sy, who originally came up with the idea of forming MCRPA, said that a one-year-old breeding pigeon and 25- to 30-day-old racing pigeons can already be sold since their homing instincts are not yet fully developed.
At the MCRPA annual fund raising and “just-for-fun” races, members can also win trophies, certificates and cash prices.
Next week, there will be four races from four south racing points—Dumaguete City in Oriental Negros, Dapitan City in Zamboanga del Norte, Ozamiz City in Misamis Occidental and Iligan City. In February 2009, there will be three races from northern areas—Naval in Leyte, Calbayog in Samar, and Masbate.
In a race, participants use a Global Positioning System device to measure distance. The owner of the pigeon that is able to cover the most number of yards per minute wins.
Members of the group whose ages range from 18 years old to 70 years old, said they find the activity exciting because their pigeons are faced with various challenges, like unpredictable weather, human and animal predators, and homing conditions.
The MCRPA appealed to the public, though, not to hurt the pigeons.
