Joel Verschoot, the man with the million-euro pigeon

INGELMUNSTER, Belgium: Belgian pigeon breeder Joel Verschoot could probably have settled down to a comfortable retirement in March after he sold the world's most expensive racer.

But 64-year-old retired abattoir worker Verschoot is not done yet. He still consecrates up to 10 hours a day tending for and racing his charges. When Armando's sale came up, two Chinese buyers went head to head, raising each other by 100,000 euros a time until one was forced to retire from the field. Joel was the only one of the elder Verschoot's nine children to take an interest in training his father's 50-strong racing flock.Since retiring from the abattoir in 2015, Verschoot has turned a hobby into an international business, fuelled by the rise of Chinese interest.

The lovesick birds, he reckons, are all the more determined to return to each others' bosom at speeds of up to 80 kph after this enforced celibacy.The breeder says one of his tricks is to keep feathered couples apart for two weeks in the belief absence makes the feathered heart grow fonder, boosting speed as they race home.

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