An explosion of interest in pigeons in China following the purchase of the ‘Lewis Hamilton’ of the bird racing world has ignited a desperate search for more pigeons to satisfy the market there, where ordinary people want to keep pigeons as pets.

They are not expecting to race them or for them to become worth as much as Armando, who sold for a world record €1.25m (£1.1m) in an online auction to a Chinese enthusiast.

However, pigeons are now being seen as fashion accessories and there has been a surge in demand for pet pigeons.

Ross Town Council has seen an opportunity to cash in on this sudden interest and on April 1st the first consignment of pigeons collected from the rooftops and walls of Ross will be crated up and transported to China for sale.

A spokesperson said: “Everyone knows the pigeons are causing problems in Ross, there are just too many of them, but no-one wants to take responsibility for culling them. They are really wanted and sought after in China, so this is a win win situation.”