My friend Greg and I have discussed the “post-chicken” alternative of pigeon meat, surely to come with a bird flu pandemic, several times. It’s a hot issue, because as we all know, you can catch swine flu from eating pork, and you can probably catch bird flu from eating chicken. Even though this is one of the great misnomers of the 21st century, the popularized fear of eating chicken is sure to sponsor a new chicken like bird as an alternative food source. Ladies and gentlemen, I bring you the regal pigeon. Often called a rodent with wings, large groups of sea gulls and magpies have been overheard to say “geez .. those grey birds over there sure give the rest of us a bad name.
Arlan Galbraith, otherwise known as the “Birdie Madoff” of the poultry world, has attempted to inject a ponzie scheme like paradigm to the pigeon breeding and eating world. While attempting to solidify pigeon as the next great white meat hope, it seems he has erected a rather large questionable business empire, that was doomed to fail, and alas, it has. At a minimal 100k startup costs, with a 50 dollar per bird guaranteed contract in place, this is surely one of the best opportunities to come along for the average farmer. I think, I will look in to this opportunity– too bad it has already failed.
A Canadian businessman behind a multi-million-dollar network of pigeon farms across North America — his empire fuelled by predictions of a post-chicken world ruled by squab — is under investigation after the State of Iowa issued an alert to potential investors that Pigeon King International may be a Ponzi scam.
In a statement sent to CanWest News Service, Iowa’s attorney-general warns that the Waterloo, Ont.-based company, which has attracted hundreds of Canadian and U.S. farmers to its bird-breeding operation despite having no immediate end-market for slaughtered pigeons, may be “misleading consumers regarding the true viability of establishing several large pigeon processing plants” and “providing inventory for new growers in furtherance of a Ponzi type of investment scheme.”
The statement, issued last week by the office of Iowa’s Attorney-General Tom Miller, added: “We believe that potential investors/buyers should be very cautious and examine the situation very carefully — especially the question of whether there is a realistic and independent market for pigeons now and in the future.”
Pigeon King president Arlan Galbraith defends his enterprise, insisting Iowa authorities have been misled by critics blinded by “jealousy and envy” over his firm’s rise to riches.
Praising the pigeon’s growth rate — “They multiply their weight 60 times in 28 days” — Galbraith added “pigeons don’t get avian flu and they don’t spread it.
“Avian flu has the potential to destroy the chicken industry. At that point in time, pigeons will be a very valuable source of meat protein,” Galbraith said in an interview Monday with CanWest News Service.
Jim Clark, head of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s avian influenza working group, said scientific experiments have shown pigeons to be uncannily resistant to the bird flu. But he added that recent studies of a virulent new Asian strain of the H5N1 virus show it does infect the species.
Clark added that Canada and other countries have established controls to prevent the poultry industry from being devastated by avian influenza.
Read the rest of the story @ Iowa warns investors off Pigeon King International.
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