Guest Posted March 8, 2006 Report Posted March 8, 2006 good to see someone in the public eye aka gerry francis speaking up on behalf of pigeon fanciers
Guest Posted March 9, 2006 Report Posted March 9, 2006 Another species of predator falls victim:- Associated Press Published: Thursday, March 09, 2006 Article tools Printer friendly E-mail Font: * * * * BERLIN -- The H5N1 bird flu virus has been found in a weasel-like mammal called a stone marten, a German laboratory said Thursday, indicating the disease has spread to another animal species. The Friedrich-Loeffler Institute confirmed the presence of the virus in the marten, a carnivorous mammal with brown fur and a white throat patch. The animal was found sick and apparently dying on the island of Ruegen in northern Germany on March 2. It was then killed by a government veterinarian, the institute said in a statement. The deadly strain of bird flu was found in a cat on the same island last month, the first time the virus has been identified in an animal other than a bird in central Europe. Infected cats have since been found in Austria. "The presence of an H5N1 infection in a second mammalian species is not surprising," Till Backhaus, the regional minister for agriculture, said in a statement. "Cats and martens have a comparable prey spectrum." Cats are believed to have caught the virus by eating infected birds.
Guest shadow Posted March 9, 2006 Report Posted March 9, 2006 No racing from the channel islands due to their close proximity to France "Shadowood Lofts"
Chris Little Posted March 9, 2006 Report Posted March 9, 2006 That is a blow but hardly a surprise, the Channel Islands was our best bet for channel racing ??) ??)
THE FIFER Posted March 9, 2006 Report Posted March 9, 2006 THINGS ARE NOT LOOKING TOO GOOD CHRIS FOR CHANNEL RACING, IS THERE ANY OTHER SITES GOING TO BE OPEN TO THE UK,
Chris Little Posted March 9, 2006 Report Posted March 9, 2006 You're right Fifer , things dont look too promising , I know some organisations in the UK were toying with the idea of some form of racing from Ireland. How about liberations from a boat..... Chris
Guest Posted March 9, 2006 Report Posted March 9, 2006 Holland might be a good bet, given the article on the home page quoting their Agriculture Minister as accepting racing pigeons as very low risk. Think Scotland has a direct ferry from Rosyth? "the Dutch Agriculture Minister Cees Veerman has lifted the lock-up order on show and racing pigeons. Reason for the change in restrictions is, "because they [pigeons] have little chance of catching the deadly H5N1 virus".
Chris Little Posted March 9, 2006 Report Posted March 9, 2006 Holland may be an option but it aint an attractive one, will give it a huge miss if it was ever likely to come off Chris
sj irving jnr Posted March 9, 2006 Report Posted March 9, 2006 good to see you on board mate its just a pitty about whats going on so are we looking at holland and north road for some feds/nationals??
sj irving jnr Posted March 9, 2006 Report Posted March 9, 2006 good to see you on board mate its just a pitty about whats going on so are we looking at holland and north road for some feds/nationals??
Pompey Mick Posted March 9, 2006 Report Posted March 9, 2006 I can't believe that Holland is even an outside chance let alone a good bet. Their own fanciers are not even allowed to race anywhere. We have just got to hold our breath and hope that the Avian Flu stays that side of the water so that we get to keep what racing we have.
johnny11 Posted March 10, 2006 Report Posted March 10, 2006 Defra has confirmed that there will be no libs from the Channel Islands due to close proximity to France john Sorry just seen this on earlier thread
Chris Little Posted March 10, 2006 Report Posted March 10, 2006 Thanks for that Rose, I was aware the Irish fanciers had boat races many moons ago but never heard if they were successful....
Guest Posted March 11, 2006 Report Posted March 11, 2006 I can't believe that Holland is even an outside chance let alone a good bet. Their own fanciers are not even allowed to race anywhere. We have just got to hold our breath and hope that the Avian Flu stays that side of the water so that we get to keep what racing we have. Agree in principle with what you say Mick. But the fact is that the current AI restrictions surely MUST be seen as a purely interim arrangement, and as discussed with Mealybar way back, a proper 'exit strategy' thought out, and negotiated in my opinion, at EU Level. The science is there and at least the Belgians, Dutch, Irish & British accept it - that racing pigeons are low risk. Basically all their Animal Health Departments have done is 'imposed' 21st century hygeine conditions upon us... which again in my opinion, had they been there voluntarily in the first place, might have staved off most of the current crack-down.
Guest Posted March 11, 2006 Report Posted March 11, 2006 Thanks for that Rose, I was aware the Irish fanciers had boat races many moons ago but never heard if they were successful.... Raised the 'hire a boat' suggestion at a Fed Moot last night attended by SNFC officials, basically cold-shouldered as a non-starter.
Pompey Mick Posted March 11, 2006 Report Posted March 11, 2006 I agree with you Bruno that we must move towards full scale racing in the future, but we must ride the storm in the short term. We do not want to antagonise public opinion by looking as if all we care about is racing our pigeons at any cost. I think that the racing restrictions placed upon us by DEFRA are ,on the whole, a Public relations exercise and these will remain in force all the time there is a perceived threat by the general public. To Joe Public a pigeon is a bird and is a possible carrier of bird flu. Hopefully the fear of this flu mutating will recede in time and the papers find something else to sensationalise. It would help our cause if we could make the public aware of the fact that pigeons may hold the key to this virus ,due to their natural resistance.
Guest Posted March 11, 2006 Report Posted March 11, 2006 Monday 13th March. ITN Channel 4, 8pm - 9pm, Equinox. Programme on bird flu / human pandemic flu, including current scientific investigations into 1918 Spanish Flu virus for clues on how to tackle and stop the 'next' one.
fredspears44 Posted March 11, 2006 Report Posted March 11, 2006 THANKS FOR THAT BRUNO WILL WATCH EAGERLY
THE FIFER Posted March 13, 2006 Report Posted March 13, 2006 THERE IS A CHANCE THAT FRENCH FANCIERS COULD BE ALLOWED TO RACE IN 2006, AND HOPE'S THAT BELGIUM AND HOLLAND WILL BE ALLOWED INTO FRANCE FOR RACING.
dandydoo Posted March 13, 2006 Report Posted March 13, 2006 Hope your right Fifer but really dont see it myself .. French poultry guys will be up in ars as well as Dutch ....what made you think that anyway
THE FIFER Posted March 13, 2006 Report Posted March 13, 2006 I GOT THIS INFO FROM A NEWS REPORT FROM "PIPA PIGEON NEWS" A BELGIUN WEB SITE, IF ANYONE WANTS A COPY PM UR e-mail ADDRESS I WILL SEND IT ON.
THE FIFER Posted March 14, 2006 Report Posted March 14, 2006 what about birds returning from the races, if they are so many hrs after lib they must be put into icelation for 3 weeks, this dose not count for the long races, so what if u get a stray in how do u know how long its been out,
jons_pigeons Posted March 15, 2006 Report Posted March 15, 2006 http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/diseases/notifiable/disease/ai/keptbirds/pigeons-ew.htm Other areas of the EU are deemed to be at a higher risk of introduction of HPAI than the United Kingdom. Therefore until further assessment has been made pigeon racing should not be permitted from Member States outside the geographical British Isles to GB.
Guest Posted March 15, 2006 Report Posted March 15, 2006 http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/diseases/notifiable/disease/ai/keptbirds/pigeons-ew.htm Other areas of the EU are deemed to be at a higher risk of introduction of HPAI than the United Kingdom. Therefore until further assessment has been made pigeon racing should not be permitted from Member States outside the geographical British Isles to GB. Worth remembering that this was the risk assessment at December 05, before AI outbreaks throughout mainland Europe. If there is a move by EU member states to have an EU Directive to keep pigeon racing within home country borders, we really need someone to represent our interests at that meeting. In my opinion, sounds like a job for the pigeon vets.
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