Raptors are often the cause of human-wildlife conflict because they may predate economically valuable species, and it is the perceived extent of predation that may augment conflict between raptors and people who keep and race pigeons. This study uses data obtained through questionnaires and an online raptor-attack reporting feature to investigate the frequency of racing pigeon losses and the perceptions of pigeon fanciers. Responses suggest that those who kept more pigeons and entered more races lost a higher proportion of pigeons. Losses were also influenced by the predatory species: sparrowhawks (Accipter nisus) were more likely to attack pigeons at lofts, whilst peregrines (Falco peregrinus) were more likely to attack pigeons during training, with patterns linked to the raptors’ breeding seasons. Pigeon fanciers were almost unanimous in their perception that raptors threaten the future of the hobby. Previous studies show that only a small proportion of racing pigeons are likely to be lost to raptors, yet pigeon fanciers believe that raptors are the main cause of losses, highlighting a possible mismatch between the perceived and actual causes of loss. This misconception may be a main source of this human-raptor conflict, so educating pigeon fanciers about the true impact of raptors could help to alleviate the issue. A shift in the beginning of the pigeon racing season by one month, and careful sighting of pigeon lofts in gardens, are also recommended in order to reduce raptor attacks.

猛禽通常是人类与野生动物冲突的原因，因为它们可能早于具有经济价值的物种，而人们感知到的捕食程度可能会加剧猛禽与饲养和赛鸽的人之间的冲突。本研究使用通过问卷和在线猛禽攻击报告功能获得的数据来调查赛鸽损失的频率和鸽友的看法。回应表明，那些饲养更多鸽子并参加更多比赛的人失去的鸽子比例更高。损失也受到掠食性物种的影响：麻雀鹰 ( Accipter nisus ) 更有可能攻击鸽舍的鸽子，而游隼 ( Falco peregrinus)）更有可能在训练期间攻击鸽子，其模式与猛禽的繁殖季节有关。鸽友几乎一致认为猛禽威胁着这一爱好的未来。先前的研究表明，只有一小部分赛鸽可能会被猛龙队夺走，但鸽友认为猛龙队是造成损失的主要原因，这突显出损失的感知原因与实际原因之间可能存在不匹配。这种误解可能是这种人类与猛禽冲突的主要根源，因此对鸽友进行有关猛禽真正影响的教育可能有助于缓解这一问题。还建议将赛鸽赛季开始的时间提前一个月，并仔细观察花园中的鸽舍，以减少猛禽袭击。