Pigeon racing 'Explosion' of bird thefts by gangs rocks Belgian sport

When Tom Van Gaver, a champion pigeon racer, walked into one of his lofts one morning last November he immediately knew something was wrong.

- Jennifer Rankin

When Tom Van Gaver, a champion pigeon racer, walked into one of his lofts one morning last November he immediately knew something was wrong. Part of the door had been smashed from the inside.

He soon realised it was no accident: thieves had broken into his aviary in Moortsele in Flanders and stolen five birds, including Finn, one of his most renowned breeders. Father and grandfather to many champions, Finn was "the Mona Lisa of the pigeon world", Van Gaver said.

The five birds, he estimates, were worth €750,000 (£625,000), but like Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece, it is hard to tell, because he had no plans to sell. He had ordered a retirement loft so his oldest birds could live out their days under more sun. Instead, CCTV footage shows one of the thieves snatching Finn and bundling the jade-necked dark bird into a plastic bag.

"Of course you feel sad and upset," Van Gaver told the Guardian. But his first thought was fixing the weak point in his security. The Belgian and international champion, feted for the endurance of his birds, already had cameras, locks and sensors.

But he had not bargained on thieves breaking in through a loft roof, having chopped down hedges in his neighbours' gardens to reach his property. Now his home is separated by a fence bearing laser sensors and cameras. "It is like a prison in my garden."