A pigeon, yes a pigeon, was recently sold at an auction for more than $1,800,000 in Belgium to a mystery buyer from China.
Chinese people and their weird love for animals never get old.
New Kim, a 3-year-old hen, was sold by Belgian auctioneers Pigeon Paradise (PIPA) in an online auction for 1.6 million euros on Sunday (November 15, 2020).
The sale reportedly beat the previous record, which was set by the owners of Armando, who was sold for 1.25 million euros.
Armando is dubbed as the Lewis Hamilton of the sport, which is really a thing in China.
It is believed that it took 4 hours for the pigeon to be sold.
Super Duper and Hitman, the Chinese buyers, went head to head during the bidding.
It is believed that the pigeon will be used by the buyer, who was not named, for breeding.
PIPA chairman Nikolaas Gyselbrecht released a statement about the bid.
Nikolaas said: “I believe it’s a world record, there has never been an officially documented sale at such a price. I didn’t think we could reach that amount.”
In 2018, New Kim won the “Ace Pigeon Grand National Middle Distance” in numerous competitions that were held at Châteauroux and Argenton-sur-Creuse in France.
Buyers of these pigeons are usually coming from the Gulf or anywhere in Asia where the sport of pigeon racing is a thing.
New Kim, the world’s most expensive pigeon, was trained and raised by Gaston and Kurt Van De Wouwer, father and son, at Berlaar, which is located near Antwerp.
The father and son are known for their world-class breeding.
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