MITO -- Seventy racing pigeons worth about 1.4 million yen (roughly $9,600) were stolen from a 73-year-old farmer in the city of Hokota, Ibaraki Prefecture, local police announced May 16.

According to Hokota Police Station, the farmer had been keeping the pigeons, each with a yellow leg band, in a wooden coop on his property. Between around New Year's Day and May 8, the number of pigeons began decreasing by a few at a time. Then on May 9, 30 birds went missing, leaving only six. By May 16, those remaining six pigeons had also disappeared.

The coop had no security camera installed and was not locked. While the farmer suspected his pigeons had been stolen, he said he was too busy with work to report the matter to police.

Since there were no signs of disturbances by animals such as weasels or cats, and none of the pigeons have returned, the local police are investigating the case as a theft.

(Japanese original by Ikuko Ando, Mito Bureau)