A Balloch couple have warned fellow pigeon racers to secure their lofts, after seeing all 40 of their birds killed by intruding wildlife.
Irene Morris contacted the Lennox to raise awareness after her husband Bob had awoken last Tuesday to find all of his prized pigeons dead, and a tiny gap chewed at the top of his loft.
She said: “We went outside last Tuesday morning and some animal, we think maybe a pine marten, has chewed through the bars of the loft anAd killed every single one of his 40 pigeons.
“It’s devastating.
“We’re really keen for other people to be made aware.
“Whatever it is has chewed through the roof, killed the pigeons and then climbed back out again.
“The loft is quite secure. It’s a wooden loft with windows.
“The dowels are wood, but they’d need to be metal to stop something like this from happening again.”
Racing pigeons can fetch anywhere between £50 and £200 depending on their pedigree, leaving the couple counting the cost of the break-in.
Irene added: “We live near Balloch Park so these wee animals are obviously prevalent in the woodlands.
“But I didn’t think they’d come down this far.
“Half the loft is babies and half is racing birds. You can pay between £50 to £200 per bird, depending on their pedigree.
“It’s carnage and it’s awful.
“There’s a big racing community in Alexandria and Dumbarton and we’re really keen to make everyone aware to avoid this happening again.”
