Racing pigeons face significant welfare challenges including exhaustion, weather exposure, navigation failure causing losses, and poor conditions at loft level for non-performing birds.
Pigeon racing welfare involves both race-specific and husbandry welfare dimensions. Race losses represent birds that die from exhaustion, predation, navigation failure, or weather exposure - welfare harm of variable severity depending on cause. Surviving birds that arrive home after lengthy flights may be severely exhausted. At the loft level, birds whose performance declines may receive reduced care or be culled. The sport's acceptance of significant loss rates as normal features of competition is a welfare question deserving scrutiny: would similar loss rates be accepted in other sporting contexts? High-performing birds may receive excellent care; the welfare of average performers and those that fail to return is less assured.