They share a love of birds but are at war over which species need protection.
Pigeon fanciers have accused the RSPB, one of Britain’s wealthiest charities, of ignoring the plight of a sport rooted in working-class culture.
Gerry Francis, the former England football captain and QPR manager, is spearheading a campaign for the right to be allowed to protect racing pigeons from the booming population of sparrowhawks and peregrine falcons.
Mr Francis, 63, has had a pigeon loft at his home in Bagshot, Surrey, since the peak of his footballing career in the mid 1970s. After years of dating page 3 girls in his younger days, he chose to focus his attentions on birds of the feathered kind.
Now, after losing hundreds of pigeons to