Tirur: Travelling over 1000 kilometres, a homing pigeon returned to its owner Rafeeq Salvo, bringing with it a well-deserved crown. In the Open Raced Homer 1000 km category held at Kalyan, Mumbai, Rafeeq’s pigeon secured first place, making it a proud moment for Kerala’s pigeon racing community.

Four renowned pigeon clubs from Kerala, KRPC Thiruvananthapuram, KRPC Thrissur, MRPC, and KRPA, jointly organised the Open Raced Homer competition under the banner of the Kerala Racing Pigeon Association (KRPA). Sixteen participants from across Kerala competed with forty pigeons released from Mumbai.

The birds flew an astounding 1000 km and returned home to their owners. The Homer pigeon of Rafeeq Salvo hailing from Thanalur, Pakara, emerged victorious, securing the 1st position in the 1000 km category. Sibil from Thrissur won 2nd place while Jaseel Aliyillam claimed 3rd spot.

Beside this, in the club-based MRPC competition also, he secured first place, with Jaseel Aliyillam taking second. Impressively, Rafeeq won first place in all six races. The races ranged from 200 km to 1000 km in distance.

A hobby turned passion

Rafeeq Salvo began raising pigeons when he was in fifth standard. In 2002, he moved to the UAE for work and resumed his pigeon-keeping hobby at home in 2015. Today, his prized homer pigeons are worth around Rs 1 lakh. He has been actively competing since 2018, participating in six races every year and consistently winning top positions.

Rafeeq’s collection includes pigeons imported from the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, UAE, and Kuwait. Though pigeon-keeping is a hobby for him, he loves and cares for his birds like family.

Jaseel Aliyillam: another promising fancier

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Jaseel Aliyillam

Another winner, Jaseel Aliyillam, hails from Paravanna, Malappuram and is son of Jaleel and Ruksana. Jaseel has been actively involved in pigeon racing for the past five years. He owns around 20 costly pigeons, and so far, 37 of his birds have competed in various races. An electrician by profession, Jaseel has been actively participating in competitions since 2020.

What makes homing pigeons special?

Homing pigeons are remarkable for their innate ability to fly back to their owners from long distances. They have historically been used as message carriers due to this exceptional homing instinct. Commonly called “homers”, these pigeons are also known as “carrier pigeons” or “messenger pigeons”.