Q&A from Paul Walsh to Dr. Paul Miller on
The Avian Influenza threat 2/27/06
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1. Are the current developments caused by the avian influenza a threat to our beloved pigeons sport, or are they the forecast to new way of pigeon keeping under lock and key?

Since pigeons are susceptible to the Asian strain of Avian Influenza, they will probably be regulated to some degree in areas where the Asian Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza is found. I would NOT expect that to happen here unless the Asian HPAI gets here.

2. After many stories from news networks, magazines and national papers, the public opinion will be influenced in regard to our pigeons. Is the current bird flu and possible other - new to come viruses - a threat to our pigeon sport the way we know it today?

It will possibly change the way we do things, but I do not see that it will completely stop the pigeon hobby.

3. Will we be able to go into the local Post office and ship our birds to a race across state lines?

This all depends on the Post Office;. The state line business is a matter of how the respective state veterinarians perceive pigeons and racing; this becomes a matter of communication to some degree. They must be educated just like everybody else.

4. All pigeon fanciers are in the dark as to what is happening on how this flu epidemic is going to affect them.

At this point, nobody knows for sure just how things will go.

5. In China I hear from a contact with a Chinese magazine that things go on as normal with no restrictions for the pigeon community.

China is where all this started, and for exactly the reason you state: there is no government involvement or concern over this disease, and it has become a major problem worldwide. The west is just the opposite, over reactive and highly regulatory, and hence we have no problem with Avian Influenza here. Whenever it does arise here, regulatory authorities deal with it very swiftly and very decisively.

6. I have received many questions about the situation with the avian influenza in Europe.

I would suggest that you refer all European questions to Dr. Pascal Lanneau in Belgium; he is the European pigeon expert.

7. At the present time I do have information that bird flu reached already about 10 countries in the European Union. At the time of this writing, there have been no cases of avian influenza reported in Belgium, Netherlands nor in the United Kingdom (3 important pigeon racing countries) France and Germany however have less luck. In these countries the presence of avian influenza has been found, this is the fact I get from Internet source Pipa Pigeon News.

It appears that things in Europe are changing, and that old bird racing might be curtailed. I would not fight this. Wait until the Avian Influenza epidemic gets resolved first. You don’t want to be perceived as part of the problem, but rather cooperating in the solution. They might want to postpone putting their breeders together until a clearer picture emerges.

8. France is the country of favor for liberation of pigeons for races from Belgium and the Netherlands.

They might have to fly a different racecourse.

9.I have to wonder what are the chances that both countries will be able to transport pigeons in to France?

I would not fly pigeons through an area that has an Avian Flu outbreak that is infectious to pigeons; they will only be perceived as carriers of the disease. I know this flu will have an affect on what happens in the USA. Stay alert, and stay informed; be very vigilant. Deal with situations as they arise on a scientific basis; try to avoid letting things get too political or emotional.

10. If there is a mandatory lock up of your pigeons, many pigeon fanciers will slowly loose their motivation to keep racing pigeons. This would be a disaster for the pigeon sport in the future and will surely end racing, as we know it today.

Fly One-loft races if necessary if you are forced to stop racing for a year.

11. Pigeon flyers are not the experts looking for the solution to the flu problem; we have to rely on the government to bring in the experts.
Don’t get your hopes up on government experts; how much have they gotten right so far?? Look at the Newcastle break in California a few years ago.

12. The five million dollar question is will the experts save our sport or kill it?
Don’t put any hope in ‘government experts’; keep your self-informed, and be very vigilant. Let us hope that there will be a great understanding of what our sport is and common sense is found with a clear solution for all these avian influenza troubles. For the moment the situation is very unclear to me.
13. One more thing: in Belgium pigeon racers are allowed luckily to let their young pigeons train around the loft. In the Netherlands, pigeon are forbidden to fly out. Hope this will change quickly, because otherwise thousands of youngsters will not find their way home later on, once they will be let out.

I have heard that also; they are probably just being cautious.

The I.F. and its members are Very Grateful to Dr. Paul Miller from the State of Pennsylvania Veterinary laboratory for his candid answers to our questions

By Paul Walsh