Working With Animals in the World of Racing

There are plenty of people around the world who are in careers working with animals intended for racing. While this is, in many respects, rocky ground when it comes to the ethics of how the animals are treated, away from the professions associated with horse and greyhound racing there are other, often less serious roles attached to other forms of animal racing.

Pigeon racing

Due to their unique homing ability, pigeons have been bred in captivity for centuries - originally to carry important messages quickly over long distances. It is a little known fact that the Reuters News Agency began life as a pigeon information delivery service, carrying stockmarket information between Belgium and Germany. The sport of racing pigeons developed in Belgium in the mid 19th century. While there is little scope for doing it professionally these days, the pigeon trade would have been a great opportunity for working with animals in the 19th century.

Pigeon racing involves birds being sent out from their home lofts and then racing back. The time taken and the distance covered are recorded, with the fastest bird declared the winner. In Europe, the races tend to be over a distance of between 100 and 1,000 kilometres. One of the main dangers for pigeons involved in racing is becoming grounded and disorientated, meaning they then find it very hard to find their way back.

Camel racing

Camel racing is a particularly good opportunity for careers working with animals, for those in countries where camels are to be found. The sport is very popular in countries from Egypt and the Middle East, through to India, Mongolia and Australia. Following the strong disapproval from many regarding the use of child jockeys, the sport is beginning to fall into line with the practice in horse-racing of using shorter adults as jockeys. At full speed, racing camels can incredibly reach speeds of up to 65 km/h (40 mph) in bursts and 40 km/h for up to an hour - they're much quicker than they look!

Yak racing

If you're lucky enough to be working with animals in Tibet, Northern Pakistan or Mongolia, then you will probably already know about yak racing. An integral and hugely entertaining part of the horse festivals that take place in the region, yak racing is more about the glory of winning than winning prize money. Even so, at the Jyekundo Horse Festival in Tibet the crowds for the yak racing events can number up to 20,000 people.

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