Long flight: British racing pigeons are being shipped to China The  waning sport of pigeon  racing has received a welcome financial boost from China, where birds race for up to £1million in prizes. Fanciers from the Far East are prepared to pay thousands of pounds for British racing birds  as more than 300,000 affluent  Chinese take up the hobby. The growing interest is in stark contrast to the UK, where the hobby is in sharp decline. But with more than 300,000 fanciers in China demand for winning British birds is high. The record prize for a British bird was reached by Champion Treble Six, nicknamed the Banker because of its winning record, to a Chinese buyer for breeding for £16,000 in 2011.
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Pigeon racing is becoming a popular sport among China's middle class
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Bird races in the Far East is a million pound industry
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A winning pigeon can award its owner with £1m in some races
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