- Title: From loft to finish line: Najaf’s racing pigeons take flight
- Date: 24th February 2026
- Summary: NAJAF, IRAQ (FEBRUARY 2, 2026) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF HOMING PIGEONS RETURNING TO THEIR LOFT AFTER TRAINING FLIGHT, AT A TRAINING AND BREEDING CENTRE KNOWN AS THE 'NAJAF INTERNATIONAL RACING POINT' VARIOUS OF BIRDS EATING BIRDS IN LOFT, OWNER OF 'NAJAF INTERNATIONAL RACING POINT', FARES FADEL, CHECKING ON BIRDS BIRDS STANDING ON PERCHES BIRD’S LEG BAND DISPLAYING ITS IDENTI
- Embargoed:
- Keywords: BIRD IRAQ NAJAF RACE SPORT
- Location: NAJAF, BASRA, IRAQ
- City: NAJAF, BASRA, IRAQ
- Country: Iraq
- Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment,Middle East
- Reuters ID: LVA001750522022026RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Homing pigeons in Iraq are at the heart of the country’s bird sporting scene, where they are bred and trained for competitive races.
Since 2023, the ‘Najaf International Racing Point’ has been training birds from across the nation, raising and conditioning them to withstand hours of continuous flight in preparation for long-distance races stretching hundreds of kilometres.
Owner Fares Fadel said the centre trains thousands of pigeons in a desert loft, starting with quarantine checks and followed by flight training. Each bird wears an electronic identification ring, allowing pigeon owners and organisers to track performance accurately. Birds train for a full year before competing.
One such race recently drew 830 birds for a long-distance challenge, spanning more than 450 kilometres (279.62 miles).
At dawn, the cages opened in unison as the pigeons took to the sky over Basra’s Al-Faw, soaring in a single direction toward Najaf, the final racing point.
Hours later, one bird landed first in the loft, claiming victory and the top prize.
Fadel said that bird owners pay $50 per bird each year to the centre, in exchange for caring and training the animals.
For races, cash prizes are awarded to top finishers based on the difficulty and length of the race, with the top spot fetching thousands of US dollars.
The competitions continue Iraq’s enduring tradition of pigeon racing, a pastime rooted in history when homing pigeons once served as a vital communication lifeline, used to deliver messages across cities.
(Production: Ahmed Saeed, Maher Nazeh, Abir Al Ahmar) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2026. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None