Note in bold in the following article -- Pigeon King has been collecting 10,000 pigeons a month taken from New York, Pennsylvania and parts of Ohio. Collecting how? Aside from the squab and investment businesses, are they also in the bird netting business?
Pigeon Investors Discuss Options in Dealing With Birds
Submitted by Editor on Fri, 07/25/2008 - 12:37pm.
Linda Williams
Southwestern Pa. Correspondent
MARTINSBURG, Pa. — An optimistic group of pigeon owners gathered in Martinsburg at the Community Meeting Room last Friday.
Leading the 50-60 in attendance was pigeon investor Robert Detwiler.
Participants came from various parts of Pennsylvania and Ohio.
The discussion centered on what to do with the pigeons in which they had invested thousands of dollars with Arlan Galbraith of Pigeon King International, a Canadian-based company. All of the investors, many of them Plain Sect, had done so in good faith of having a market.
However, Pigeon King, or PKI, which claimed to be in the squab market, has gone bankrupt leaving the pigeon farmers without a market. Squab is an exclusive dish served in elite restaurants and, according to one participant at the meeting, can sell for $165 per plate. Squab is made from pigeons which are 30 to 40 days old. Pigeon owners are now left with thousands of birds which are growing older by the day and must be fed.
Detwiler opened the meeting by explaining that, like others present, he had invested in the pigeons and had reaped the benefits for a time. He asked for ideas on how to deal with the situation. One person was appointed to write down each suggestion that would be sent to the various people in attendance and others who might inquire later.
Detwiler noted that one person let 2,000 pigeons out of their cages hoping they might fly away and he would no longer have to feed them. However, they returned to roost on his barn roof.
Detwiler also noted that he himself had sold about 10 of his birds to a dog trainer.
“We need to learn how to market what we have,” he said.
One person suggested using the birds for animal feed. Someone had heard of a man from the Scranton area who might have a lead on this.
A latecomer to the meeting said he and his wife had been on the Internet and found a processing plant in the Philadelphia area, but the Website did not have contact information.
While most of the pigeons purchased from Galbraith seemed to be high fliers or homing pigeons, Silver King pigeons seem to have more of a market.
A representative from the Imler Poultry Company said he is willing to work on finding a processing plant and a market for the pigeons although he could make no guarantees. He added that if he did find a market, the individual farmers would be responsible for getting the birds to market.
“You find a market and we will get them there,” was the response.
Another suggestion was for the farmers to eat their own birds. Detwiler noted he had found an old cookbook recently which had pigeon recipes and perhaps this was an option for at least some of the birds.
A former manager from Pigeon King said they had been collecting about 10,000 birds a month from New York, Pennsylvania, and western Ohio prior to the collapse of PKI.
One couple had discovered a Website indicating the pigeon manure makes good fertilizer and thought this might be a possibility.
Another said he had found a processing plant in New Castle that would use the older pigeons for snake feed.
“I’ve got a buyer coming tonight who will give me 50 cents per bird to be used for dog training,” came a voice from across the room. “Should I take it?”
“No, was a quick response, send your buyer to me.” This comment brought a round of laughter.
International markets were discussed briefly but it was indicated that there are a lot of rules and regulations with regards to shipping out of the country.
A former pickup man for Pigeon King said he had met many wonderful people with his former job. “I saw them starting to earn a profit,” he said. “When I would go back month after month, I began to see a lot of good changes.
People were fixing up their places. I know it was a good thing. I would like to be a pickup man again.”
The general consensus of the group was that Arlan Galbraith never meant to harm anyone and this was not a scam. It was only an unfortunate incident.
Meanwhile, regardless, the birds have to be fed. Several indicated they could no longer afford to purchase feed with 200 pounds of wheat costing $42.50.
Detwiler indicated he had some folks growing wheat on his land and has been able to keep his birds going with this. Others found cracked corn to be the least expensive route to go.
Anyone who felt the operation was a scam was invited to write a letter to the Waterloo Regional Police Service. If they get enough complaints they will file an investigation. To date, they have received only about 13 letters. The address is P.O. Box 3070, 200 Maple Grove Rd., Cambridge, Ontario N3H5MI.
Detwiler has also made an appointment with a bankruptcy lawyer and will get back to the group with information gleaned from this.
Showing posts with label ponzi scheme. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ponzi scheme. Show all posts
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Pigeon King Bankruptcy Leaves Birds in Limbo
Latest developments
Pigeon King Bankruptcy Leaves Birds in Limbo
Submitted by Editor on Fri, 06/27/2008 - 10:51am.
Lancaster Farming
Chris Torres
Staff Writer
Information is still sketchy on what will happen to thousands of pigeons in limbo as a result of the bankruptcy of Pigeon King International last week.
The company, which sold expensive pigeon breeding contracts to prospective buyers, filed for bankruptcy in Canada, with its controversial owner, Arlan Galbraith, declaring the company "dead."
Thousands of producers throughout Canada and the U.S., including many in Pennsylvania, are now left with hundreds if not thousands of pigeons they will have to either sell or destroy as a result of the filing. Many others have likely lost thousands of dollars as a result of their investments in the company.
Live bird markets in Pennsylvania have been inundated with calls from producers who want to get rid of their pigeons.
"We’ve been overwhelmed," said Lisa Laucks of Gingrich Animal Supply, Fredericksburg, Pa. She said the company has gotten requests to sell more than 20,000 pigeons to the live bird market. "There are way too many out there," she said.
The company sold multi-year contracts to prospective investors, some in the range of $250,000 or more, for the right to raise pigeons on the farm with the promise they would be paid for their offspring. The company stated it was stocking pigeons for the lucrative squab market and even trademarked a company, Hinterland Squabs, with the hopes of entering into the market.
But critics, including one former salesman for Pigeon King, claimed the company was operating a "Ponzi" scheme, recruiting new investors to pay off old ones, because they didn’t have a clear market for the birds.
Laucks said many of the pigeons she has seen lack the quality and size to be sold into the squab market.
"They are poor quality pigeons," she said. "The information (Galbraith) gave to producers about selling them as squab was not right."
A handful of states, including Iowa, Maryland and Washington, banned the company from doing business in their states.
The Waterloo Regional Police Department in Canada has opened up an inquiry into the company’s dealings.
But even in the face of bankruptcy, Galbraith defended his business practices in a letter sent out to producers last week. He claims the company was in good financial shape, paying out more than $12 million to purchase pigeons from its contract producers in 2007. He also claimed the pigeon business gave him strength in his fight against Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a form of cancer.
He blamed many factors for the company’s downfall, including the weakening economy, high feed costs and increased building costs.
But he placed most of the blame in the hands of his critics, describing them as "fear mongers" and claiming they prevented the company from recruiting new investors.
"Had the fear mongers not targeted us, we would still be a thriving company establishing the first of several squab processing plants. Instead we have been reduced to ashes by fear. Fear is the strongest weapon in the world and it has been used since the beginning of time to manipulate and control people," Galbraith wrote in his letter.
He added that producers are free to do whatever they want with their pigeons and that a bankruptcy trustee has taken over the company’s dealings.
"This means my hands are now tied and that the trustee is responsible for everything," Galbraith wrote.
Apparently, not all of the company’s producers received his letter.
Robert Leister of Wellsboro, Pa., said Monday he was shocked to learn the company filed for bankruptcy. He had just ordered supplies from the company and was expecting a shipment any day. He even received the company’s latest newsletter, which contained a description of a slaughterhouse they were planning on building.
Leister spent $10,000 on 100 pairs of pigeons and thousands more on renovating a building to house the birds. He said the company honored the contract, but claims he has not made enough money to cover his initial investment. Now, he is left with hundreds of pigeons he doesn’t what to do with.
"I guess there will be a lot of pigeons flying around," Leister said.
Noah Peachey, a Plain Sect farmer from Belleville, Pa., said he knows many other producers in his community that made investments in the company. Five of his nephews bought birds from Pigeon King, all of whom, he said, have no idea what they will do now.
"There are people that are very devastated," Peachey said. "What can you do? We tried to warn them."
According to Dr. David Griswold, acting executive director of the state’s Animal Health and Diagnostic Commission, producers can legally incinerate, render or bury their animals, so long as they do it in a "humane fashion."
Griswold said pigeons carry few diseases and are extremely resistance to avian flu.
Chris Ryder, spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, said there are at least six markets in the state exclusively for live birds, all of which are located in the Philadelphia area, that could take the pigeons. But he added the markets can only handle between 200 and 600 birds at a time.
Ryder said there are also other markets in the state that could possibly take some of the pigeons.
Source: Lancaster Farming
Pigeon King Bankruptcy Leaves Birds in Limbo
Submitted by Editor on Fri, 06/27/2008 - 10:51am.
Lancaster Farming
Chris Torres
Staff Writer
Information is still sketchy on what will happen to thousands of pigeons in limbo as a result of the bankruptcy of Pigeon King International last week.
The company, which sold expensive pigeon breeding contracts to prospective buyers, filed for bankruptcy in Canada, with its controversial owner, Arlan Galbraith, declaring the company "dead."
Thousands of producers throughout Canada and the U.S., including many in Pennsylvania, are now left with hundreds if not thousands of pigeons they will have to either sell or destroy as a result of the filing. Many others have likely lost thousands of dollars as a result of their investments in the company.
Live bird markets in Pennsylvania have been inundated with calls from producers who want to get rid of their pigeons.
"We’ve been overwhelmed," said Lisa Laucks of Gingrich Animal Supply, Fredericksburg, Pa. She said the company has gotten requests to sell more than 20,000 pigeons to the live bird market. "There are way too many out there," she said.
The company sold multi-year contracts to prospective investors, some in the range of $250,000 or more, for the right to raise pigeons on the farm with the promise they would be paid for their offspring. The company stated it was stocking pigeons for the lucrative squab market and even trademarked a company, Hinterland Squabs, with the hopes of entering into the market.
But critics, including one former salesman for Pigeon King, claimed the company was operating a "Ponzi" scheme, recruiting new investors to pay off old ones, because they didn’t have a clear market for the birds.
Laucks said many of the pigeons she has seen lack the quality and size to be sold into the squab market.
"They are poor quality pigeons," she said. "The information (Galbraith) gave to producers about selling them as squab was not right."
A handful of states, including Iowa, Maryland and Washington, banned the company from doing business in their states.
The Waterloo Regional Police Department in Canada has opened up an inquiry into the company’s dealings.
But even in the face of bankruptcy, Galbraith defended his business practices in a letter sent out to producers last week. He claims the company was in good financial shape, paying out more than $12 million to purchase pigeons from its contract producers in 2007. He also claimed the pigeon business gave him strength in his fight against Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a form of cancer.
He blamed many factors for the company’s downfall, including the weakening economy, high feed costs and increased building costs.
But he placed most of the blame in the hands of his critics, describing them as "fear mongers" and claiming they prevented the company from recruiting new investors.
"Had the fear mongers not targeted us, we would still be a thriving company establishing the first of several squab processing plants. Instead we have been reduced to ashes by fear. Fear is the strongest weapon in the world and it has been used since the beginning of time to manipulate and control people," Galbraith wrote in his letter.
He added that producers are free to do whatever they want with their pigeons and that a bankruptcy trustee has taken over the company’s dealings.
"This means my hands are now tied and that the trustee is responsible for everything," Galbraith wrote.
Apparently, not all of the company’s producers received his letter.
Robert Leister of Wellsboro, Pa., said Monday he was shocked to learn the company filed for bankruptcy. He had just ordered supplies from the company and was expecting a shipment any day. He even received the company’s latest newsletter, which contained a description of a slaughterhouse they were planning on building.
Leister spent $10,000 on 100 pairs of pigeons and thousands more on renovating a building to house the birds. He said the company honored the contract, but claims he has not made enough money to cover his initial investment. Now, he is left with hundreds of pigeons he doesn’t what to do with.
"I guess there will be a lot of pigeons flying around," Leister said.
Noah Peachey, a Plain Sect farmer from Belleville, Pa., said he knows many other producers in his community that made investments in the company. Five of his nephews bought birds from Pigeon King, all of whom, he said, have no idea what they will do now.
"There are people that are very devastated," Peachey said. "What can you do? We tried to warn them."
According to Dr. David Griswold, acting executive director of the state’s Animal Health and Diagnostic Commission, producers can legally incinerate, render or bury their animals, so long as they do it in a "humane fashion."
Griswold said pigeons carry few diseases and are extremely resistance to avian flu.
Chris Ryder, spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, said there are at least six markets in the state exclusively for live birds, all of which are located in the Philadelphia area, that could take the pigeons. But he added the markets can only handle between 200 and 600 birds at a time.
Ryder said there are also other markets in the state that could possibly take some of the pigeons.
Source: Lancaster Farming
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Pigeon Investment Fraud
Business Models: Don’t count your Ponzi pigeons until they’re hatched…
Posted on January 2nd, 2008
by Mitch Brisebois
At the last Ottawa BarCamp I gave a presentation on Eyeballs. More specifically, an overview of the various business techniques used by some social net sites to monetize their subscriber base. So far, only the dating sites have generated much profit - and that’s now in decline. (assuming you’re willing to accept dating sites as social net sites!). The mantra for most web2.0 companies still seems to be “Let’s get a billion users, then we’ll figure out how to make money.” This is so wrong. True innovation is getting all the parts right: product and business plan.
The web isn’t the only place you’ll find kooky business plans. Consider Waterloo-Ontario-based Pigeon King International. They buy pigeons from people they sold pigeons to, so that they can sell the pigeons to other people. Confusing? Basically they enlist farmers to become pigeon farmers. The farmers pay PKI $50k-$100k for the privilege. The farmer is then guaranteed that PKI will buy back young pigeons for $8 to $50. Because pigeons are easy to breed, the ROI is quick. The odd thing is that there no actual market for the pigeons. The buy back is only sustainable if more and more farmers sign up.
If the scheme sounds dubious, the Iowa Attorney General thinks so too. Pigeon King insists that their business is not a ponzi scheme. Their response on December 19th to the attorney general was that the future market for pigeon meat (squabs) will boom once avian flu destroys all the world’s chickens. But I’m not seeing any “Squab Fingers” on the pub menu any time soon! That’s just koo koo!
I wonder if there’s a Social Net app for raising virtual pigeons. oh yeah, Facebook.
Posted on January 2nd, 2008
by Mitch Brisebois
At the last Ottawa BarCamp I gave a presentation on Eyeballs. More specifically, an overview of the various business techniques used by some social net sites to monetize their subscriber base. So far, only the dating sites have generated much profit - and that’s now in decline. (assuming you’re willing to accept dating sites as social net sites!). The mantra for most web2.0 companies still seems to be “Let’s get a billion users, then we’ll figure out how to make money.” This is so wrong. True innovation is getting all the parts right: product and business plan.
The web isn’t the only place you’ll find kooky business plans. Consider Waterloo-Ontario-based Pigeon King International. They buy pigeons from people they sold pigeons to, so that they can sell the pigeons to other people. Confusing? Basically they enlist farmers to become pigeon farmers. The farmers pay PKI $50k-$100k for the privilege. The farmer is then guaranteed that PKI will buy back young pigeons for $8 to $50. Because pigeons are easy to breed, the ROI is quick. The odd thing is that there no actual market for the pigeons. The buy back is only sustainable if more and more farmers sign up.
If the scheme sounds dubious, the Iowa Attorney General thinks so too. Pigeon King insists that their business is not a ponzi scheme. Their response on December 19th to the attorney general was that the future market for pigeon meat (squabs) will boom once avian flu destroys all the world’s chickens. But I’m not seeing any “Squab Fingers” on the pub menu any time soon! That’s just koo koo!
I wonder if there’s a Social Net app for raising virtual pigeons. oh yeah, Facebook.
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