Pigeons fanciers claim, as in the past, that Goshawks, Sparrowhawks and Peregrines have become ‘too numerous’ and are responsible for killing huge numbers of racing pigeons, causing fanciers to abandon their hobby (apparently, number of fanciers dropped from 120.000 to <18.000 in past 15 years). However, only Goshawk and Peregrine are known to prey extensively on racing pigeons, the former accounting for a toll of 0.1-2.5% of pigeon numbers. Goshawks have been stable at 1800-2000 pairs for decades, Peregrines increased from 1 pair in 1990 to >200 recently (showing levelling off). Goshawk predation of pigeons is mostly targeted at young birds, stragglers and birds lost during racing. The decline in numbers of racing pigeons (caused by ageing of the fancier population) is mirrored by a decline of racing pigeons in Goshawk diets. The present decline of Goshawks in parts of The Netherlands, in parallel with declining breeding success, is partly caused by food shortage (with major contribution of dwindling numbers of racing pigeons).