Mike Tyson Just Took His Love for Pigeons to the Next Level
Mike Tyson’s love of pigeons has been well documented over the years. When the former pro boxer was growing up in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn, he turned to caring for the birds to find peace. After retiring in 2005, Tyson had a massive pigeon coop constructed in the backyard of his Paradise Valley home for his 350 pigeons; and even appeared in one season of an Animal Planet series in 2011 that documented him competing in the sport of pigeon racing.
And it appears that the 57-year-old is still very much all about that pigeon life, as he recently traveled all the way to Poland to acquire 100 pigeons from a local breeder in a Polish village.
Photos of Tyson’s visit recently surfaced on the Polish-language Instagram account TeamHypeTalk, which writes: “Mike Tyson flew especially to Piątnica (near Łomża) to buy 100 pigeons from a local dealer! No one would have predicted such a turn of events today.” Indeed, no lies were detected.
According to the Daily Mail, the story has since been verified by the Polish news portal Mylomza.pl, which likewise published additional photos of Tyson meeting with the pigeon breeder. The outlet reported that several veterinary officials were apparently called to the village to vaccinate the pigeons, in order for them to be certified for export to the United States.
“However, the issue of exporting birds is not simple, with Virulent Newcastle Disease and HAPI restricting the free trade of these animals,” it stated.
But the trip to Poland, specifically, was apparently not random, as the country has gained a global reputation for pigeon breeding in recent years. It’s supposedly even home to Europe’s largest community of pigeon breeders.
According to a Kraków city guide, the former capital of Poland has more pigeons than any other city in Europe, with the possible exception of Venice. And Poles love their “gołabki” (the Polish word for pigeons) so much that various streets are dubbed “ulica Gołębia” in their honor; and the country’s national dish of stuffed cabbage was likewise named after the birds.
In other words, it sounds like Tyson was in very good company.
