Pigeon Racing Ban Lifted in Western Europe

Pigeon Racing Ban Lifted in Western Europe



March 2007 - The ban on pigeon racing in 
Western Europe will be lifted on April 1, 2007, the UK 
Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Defra, 
announced today. 
A ban on pigeon racing from outside the British Isles was 
originally imposed in October 2005 following a veterinary risk 
assessment of the likelihood of H5N1 avian influenza 
transmission. 
The end of the higher risk autumn migration and over-wintering 
period, coupled with the absence of evidence of disease in 
wild birds in Europe, has led to a revised veterinary risk 
assessment which has informed the decision to lift the pigeon 
racing ban from April 1. 
International pigeon racing will be permitted from France, the 
Channel Islands, Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany. 
Pigeon racing from Western Europe will still be subject to the 
existing conditions on domestic races of notifying in advance, 
record keeping and biosecurity. 
Racing pigeons such as this one have been clocked at over 100 
miles per hour for distances of more than 100 miles. 
There will be an additional requirement for all returning 
birds to be kept in isolation from other birds for seven days. 
Birds also should be regularly inspected for signs of disease. 

All restrictions, including on bird gatherings, in Suffolk and 
Norfolk following the outbreak of avian influenza in turkeys 
in Suffolk were lifted on March 12 in line with European 
legislation. 
Epidemiological investigations have found little evidence of 
the involvement of wild birds in that outbreak and there have 
been no bird flu cases detected in wild birds in Europe since 
August 2006. 
Since 2003, the H5N1 virus has caused the deaths of hundreds 
of millions of chickens, geese and ducks in nine Asian 
countries and has spread to Turkey, Romania, Croatia, Ukraine, 
Hungary, Russia and Azerbaijan, and into Africa. A total of 
279 people have been infected, of which 169 have died of the 
disease. 
Since the occurrence of human cases in Turkey and Azerbaijan 
at the beginning of 2006, there have been no new human cases 
of H5N1 reported in the European region although there have 
been numerous outbreaks in poultry and wild birds. 
Since January 2007, confirmed outbreaks have occurred in 
poultry in Hungary, the United Kingdom, Turkey and Russia. 
Apart from a case in Cellardyke, Scotland where highly 
pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 virus was isolated from a dead 
wild Whooper swan sampled on March 31, 2006, there have been 
no confirmed isolations of this virus in wild birds in the UK 
during 2006 or 2007, despite enhanced surveillance. 
There were widespread and sporadic detections of the H5N1 
virus in dead wild birds and poultry in European member states 
during the spring and summer months of 2006. 
Since then there have been two confirmed outbreaks of H5N1 
Asian lineage in domestic free range geese in Hungary, most 
recently on January 30, 2007. 
There has been one confirmed outbreak in indoor poultry in the 
UK when turkeys on a farm in Holton, Suffolk were found to 
have the H5N1 virus on February 3, 2007. This outbreak does 
not appear to be associated with infected wild birds or other 
UK domestic poultry or captive birds, Defra said, and the 
facility has been cleansed and reopened. 
Defra will keep the risk assessment under constant review and 
would consider new restrictions if the avian influenza disease 
situation in wild birds changes. 
Chief Veterinary Officer Debby Reynolds said, "The lifting of 
the ban on pigeon racing from April first is an appropriate 
response to our assessment of the level of risk of disease 
from wild birds. However we are keeping this risk under review 
and there is a constant low-level risk of avian influenza. 
Therefore I urge all bird owners and pigeon racers to be 
vigilant and maintain high standards of biosecurity." 
The global bird conservation group BirdLife International says 
outbreaks of avian influenza among wild birds in Europe and 
Iran during 2006 show that wild birds are capable of carrying 
the virus to new sites after infection. 
"How this happens is still unknown," BirdLife says. "It is 
possible the birds spread the disease in a 'leap-frog' fashion 
by travelling for a short time and passing on infection to 
another group of birds before dying, and can thereby 
contribute to the long-distance spread of the virus. There may 
also be some species that are resistant to H5N1, and capable 
of infecting other birds without themselves showing serious 
illness." 
BirdLife says one of the key uncertainties relating to the 
role of wild birds in spreading H5N1 is whether wild birds can 
carry and spread the disease without showing symptoms, and the 
organization is calling for more research to resolve this 
question. 
The pigeon racing season begins in April and finishes in early 
October. Most races take place during the summer months. 
International races are scheduled for mid-summer when day 
length allows birds to cover greater distances in a day. 
Pigeon fancier with her birds 
Pigeon fanciers keep their birds in lofts. Prior to a race, 
fanciers belonging to a pigeon racing club will gather their 
birds at their club where the birds are given a rubber race 
ring, placed in release crates and transported to the 
liberation site for release. For larger races pigeons that 
have been gathered at club level will then be taken to another 
location and loaded on to transporters with birds from other 
clubs for release. 
For UK races, birds are usually liberated within 24 hours of 
being placed in the release crates and for the longer 
international races birds are usually released within 72 
hours. However if there is a delay to the start of the race, 
possibly due to adverse weather, this period may be extended. 
Following release, for races within Great Britain, birds are 
expected to return to their loft within 24 hours. For longer 
international races this period may be up to 72 hours. Birds 
returning from southern France or from Spain may rest on the 
northern coast of France when night falls. 
A small number of weaker or disorientated birds may return 
several days after the others or return to a different loft 
altogether. Factors such as adverse weather may delay a large 
number of birds from returning within the expected timeframe. 
In addition to organized races pigeons are also gathered 
together for training flights. This may be done on an informal 
basis. Birds from several lofts may be gathered together and 
transported to a location for release. Training flights begin 
in advance of the racing season. 
Avian influenza is a notifiable disease in racing pigeons. Any 
person suspecting avian influenza in racing pigeons has a 
legal obligation to notify the State Veterinary Service. 





 

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