Pigeon racing rocked by doping scandal as Belgian birds are found with traces of painkillers and COCAINE in their system Tests found that five pigeons had been given painkiller Mobistix A sixth Belgian bird was found with traces of cocaine in its blood Test results have led to renewed calls for new doping rules for the sport It's the sort of drug scandal you might expect to engulf sports like athletics and cycling - but certainly not pigeon racing. The sport has been rocked by doping shame after tests revealed that a number of pigeons in Belgium were found with traces of cocaine and painkillers in their system. Five birds tested were found to have Mobistix - a painkiller used to combat fever and inflammation - in their blood. Scandal: Six Belgian racing pigeons have been found with traces of drugs including cocaine in their system (file picture) Doping: One of the pigeons tested was found with traces of cocaine in its blood Even more shockingly, a sixth bird showed traces of cocaine, according to the tests carried out by a South African drugs laboratory. Despite the findings of the tests, the Pigeon Fanciers' Association will not be able to take any disciplinary action against the owners of the birds because the samples were submitted anonymously. According to the Independent, the 20 samples tested in total had already been checked in Belgium, but no traces of drugs were found. The Association's chairman Stefaan Van Bockstaele and chairman of sport Dirk Schreel were said to be shocked at the findings which will likely lead to new doping rules been introduced to the sport ahead of the 2014 racing season. Popular sport: Pigeon racing is big business in Belgium where birds are released from a specific location and must race back to their nest Pigeon racing is big business in Belgium where specially bred birds are released from a specific location and race back to their loft. The sport - which often sees pigeons race over 600 miles - sees around 60 per cent of competitors in any given race not make it home. They fall victim to exhaustion, get lost or are killed by predators or power cables. It is so lucrative that a Belgian pigeon called Bolt was bought by a Chinese businessman for a staggering £260,000 earlier this year. It is thought that the buyer wanted to use Bolt - named after Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt - to breed more racing pigeons.