Drugs, smuggling and abductions: inside the fast and furious world of pigeon racing in Taiwan

Pigeons in their coop in Yunlin, Taiwan, where about 200,000 breeder-trainers race up to a million birds a year. Photograph: An Rong Xu/The Guardian

There’s almost nothing some handlers won’t do to win. Competitors have been kidnapped and then offered up for ransom. Others have reportedly been smuggled on to high-speed trains to get to the finish line first. Some are said to be kept hungry so that they move quicker on race day.

This is the fast and furious world of pigeon racing in Taiwan.