Impact on English Racing Pigeons

When I was a teenager I had quitea flock of racing pigeons. Too bad.


Racing pigeons
Sunday March 19th 2006, 10:57 am
Filed under: Article

Racing pigeons ‘face bird flu cull’

A SCIENTIST advising the government on measures to prevent the spread of avian flu in Britain has warned that pigeon fanciers may have to cull their prize birds if pandemic strikes.

Dr Douglas Fleming, director of the Royal College of General Practitioners research unit, said that racing pigeons may have to be slaughtered to prevent a spread of the virus.

Urban pigeon lofts, many of which are close to residential properties, could also have to be cleared and disinfected or destroyed to ensure that people living nearby are not at risk.

His comments follow a warning by ministers that Highland shooting estates could be stopped from releasing game birds into the wild to prevent the spread of the flu. Free-range and organic poultry farmers have been told they will have to confine their flocks in sheds.

The moves are in preparation for the arrival of avian flu in Britain after the disease was confirmed on a French turkey farm last month. It was probably carried there by wild birds whose migratory routes also pass over Britain.

Fleming, a member of the government’s joint committee on flu, fears it is inevitable that the H5N1 strain will arrive here. “If we got to a situation where the virus was widespread throughout the country serious policy decisions would have to be made, which could restrict close contact between birds and humans,” he said.

“If this was the case then the sport of pigeon racing would have to be stopped in this country. If you got a flock of pigeons that were affected, or suspected to be affected, we would have to have a cull.

“It would be the same as the precautions that were taken during the foot and mouth outbreak. You have got to look at whether pigeon fanciers could catch the virus from the bird.

“Also, if a person suffering from normal seasonal flu handles a bird suffering from avian flu, you have the potential for the viruses getting together and a new virus developing. Obviously we need to limit the opportunities for that.”

Fleming is to address a conference on pandemic flu co-organised by NHS Scotland and the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, in the capital later this month. He was involved in attempting to contain Britain’s last flu pandemic in 1969.

“Quite clearly it is only a matter of time before avian flu comes into this country, just the same as it has come into France,” he said. “You cannot stop wild birds from flying across borders and spreading the disease.”

Peter Bryant, general manager of the Royal Pigeon Racing Association, insisted there was a low risk of racing pigeons contracting bird flu.

The pigeon racing season is due to start next weekend and Bryant said voluntary restrictions had been implemented to address concerns of pigeons bringing bird flu into the UK.

“We would normally be racing from France and Belgium but we have taken the pragmatic approach and decided not to go ahead with that in the current climate,” he said.

“If there is an outbreak in the UK we expect to have some restrictions placed on us. We are in regular contact with the government and will implement any advice they give to us.”

Joe Murphy, spokesman for the Scottish National Flying Club, admitted that pigeon fanciers were concerned for the future: “A lot of our members are worried about what will happen if bird flu does arrive here.

“People involved in the sport are not stupid and, if the disease did come, they would want to keep their birds inside. Some champion pigeons can sell for as much as £110,000 and people would not want to take any risks with them.”

A Scottish executive spokeswoman said any gathering of birds could pose a risk.

“In the event of an avian flu outbreak in Scotland, an immediate response would be to withdraw the licence for bird gatherings, therefore including pigeon racing, until the epidemiological situation had been clarified,” she said.

More than 10,000 Scots regularly take part in pigeon fancying with clubs and associations existing from Shetland to the Borders.

By Marc Horne