This is the historical fact that serves as the basis for Walt Disney Studio’s latest feature release entitled “Valiant”. The 80 minute animated movie tells the tale of a puny wood pigeon named Valiant who enlists in the Royal Homing Pigeon Service to do all he can for king and country. The underdog theme prevails as Valiant is assigned to a squad of misfits called Lofty who are shipped to enemy occupied France to carry secret messages past a brigade of ruthless Nazi falcons (“we have ways of making you squawk”

Predictable plot and odd looking animated pigeons but great British voice actors such as Ewan McGregor and John Cleese. Take a young member of your family to see this movie.

The problem is so bad across the U.K. that the Royal Pigeon Racing Association has lost 2000 members this year, mainly from frustration over bird losses. Dr Philip Lynch, chairman of the Scottish Homing Union, called for a lifting of the laws protecting raptors stating “this is a problem which is getting worse and if nothing is done we will see a massive drop in the number of fanciers in 10 years and we won’t have a sport in 20 years”. Dr Lynch, who has been racing pigeons for over 50 years said he has lost 65 birds -half his flock- this year.

Homing pigeons have been raced for sport in the U.K. since the 1880s.