Defense The army parted with its carrier pigeons 30 years ago
For 77 years, carrier pigeons transported messages for the army over long distances. At an average speed of 60 km/h and with a high success rate. But 30 years ago, the Swiss army retired its carrier pigeons from service.
In 1917, the Federal Council decided to purchase 1,000 young carrier pigeons, as can be seen from the minutes of the national government meeting at the time. At the time, the pigeon's ability to find its way home made it useful for the army. This innate ability enables pigeons to fly back to their territory from an unfamiliar area.
With an average cruising speed of 60 kilometers per hour, the homing pigeon can cover distances of 100 kilometers and more with a high success rate. It can carry 6 grams in its foot pod and 40 grams in its breast pod. According to the website of the Swiss Carrier Pigeon Association (SBV), the pigeons are suitable for transporting original documents or soil samples, for example.
How the bird, which weighs around 300 to 500 grams and has a wingspan of around 70 centimetres, finds its way back is still not fully understood. It is known that homing pigeons use the sun, geomagnetism, hearing, sight and smell to help them find their way.
Weather and birds of prey as dangers
According to the Library at Guisanplatz (Big), the lead library of the Federal Administration and the army, the army's carrier pigeon service was initially conceived provisionally before becoming more professional in 1920. Special courses were held to learn how to handle the birds.
It was recommended that the birds should only be used for reporting flights during the day and in good weather conditions, as darkness, fog and heavy thunderstorms made it unsafe for the pigeons to fly back. Another danger is birds of prey, said Hugo Bühler, Vice-President of the SBC, to the Keystone-SDA news agency on request.
30,000 carrier pigeons in the militia system
In addition to the army pigeons, which were stationed in Sand near Schönbühl BE, militia carrier pigeons were also used in cooperation with the Association of Carrier Pigeon Breeders - which was later renamed the SBC. According to the SBV, the fancier received 20 centimes pay per bird per day as well as a lump-sum food allowance for the whole year.
As part of the Army Reform 95, carrier pigeons were decommissioned from the army. As the Federal Military Department (EMD) wrote at the time, pressure to save money, the growing operating costs of electronic transmission and the dwindling military importance of carrier pigeons led to the decision to abolish them.
This affected 7000 carrier pigeons of the army and around 30,000 militia carrier pigeons. This brought a 77-year tradition to an end on September 22, 1994.
A committee responded to the decision by launching an initiative to preserve carrier pigeons in the army. Although this did not come to fruition, the future of carrier pigeons was secured. They remained at the Sand station and were taken over by a foundation. This meant that the 7000 animals did not have to be slaughtered.
Animals continue to serve the army
Even though the army no longer has carrier pigeons, animals such as dogs and horses are still in service. By using pack horses, the so-called train is able to transport goods in rough or alpine terrain as well as in bad weather, as army spokesman Mathias Volken said on request.
Modern transmission and command and control systems are now used for communication. Transmission is carried out using digital technology and ensures high technical availability and great flexibility of the communication systems, according to Volken.
SBC Vice President Bühler can imagine a specific situation in which carrier pigeons could still be used today: "If the electronics no longer work due to malfunctions and failures, carrier pigeons could be used as a last resort for communication." However, at least two pigeons would have to be released to ensure that the message gets through.
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