An international crime network dubbed the “Pigeon Mafia” has emerged as a major threat to the global racing pigeon industry, according to investigative reports. High-value racing pigeons, scientifically known as Columba livia domestica, have become targets of theft across Europe, the United Kingdom, South Africa, and the United States. A CBS “60 Minutes” report highlighted a surge in thefts in Belgium’s Flanders region, one of the world’s leading breeding centers, where at least 35 major incidents have been recorded in the past three years.

Experts say the stolen birds are being used for breeding to produce valuable offspring sold on the black market. Belgian breeder Tom Van Gaver, whose collection is valued at around $10 million, lost his prized pigeon “Finn” in a 2024 theft he described as a “Mona Lisa heist.” The lucrative “one-loft racing” competitions, where pigeons return home from hundreds of miles away, have driven prices as high as several million dollars per bird.

DNA analysis and a genetic database of over 70,000 pigeons are now aiding investigations, but many stolen birds remain missing, leaving breeders on high alert.