New Kim, a Belgian-bred racing pigeon, sold to an unidentified Chinese buyer for a record-breaking $1.9 million on Sunday after a two week auction, according to the Associated Press. The 3-year-old hen was nabbed by a bidder who went by the moniker “Super Duper,” who beat out another person dubbed “Hitman.” New Kim’s new ownership is the result of a fire sale by Belgian breeder Gaston Van de Wouwer, who is retiring after all 445 of his birds are sold off at auction. A decade ago, the record price for a pigeon was just one-tenth of New Kim’s price. Pigeon racing, once a hobby for Western European working class men, has become popular in China among the wealthy, driving up demand across the globe. Belgium is considered the world’s best place for pigeon breeding.
