Racing pigeons are marvel fowls to a niche sporting community. The birds lay low all winter but can reach incredible speeds when they compete in summer. One Ottawa hobbyist raises, and races, pigeons as part of a racing club in the outskirts of the city.
Producer: Caroline Mercer
Camera: Bárbara d’Oro
Editor: Dana Hatherly
Caroline made some new friends while shooting a documentary about pigeon racing in Ottawa.
Homing pigeons have been used for hundreds of years to deliver messages at a distance, long before the invention of radio and computer technology revolutionized immediate communication.
Louis Santoro has kept racing pigeons since he was a young boy growing up in Italy. We joined him at his pigeon loft to hear about the hobby he has loved throughout his childhood and adult life.
The outcome of the battle of Waterloo in 1815 was first delivered to England by pigeon. In the 1860s, Paul Reuter, who went on to found the Reuter press agency, used pigeons to deliver news and stock prices around Europe.