Brexit: Cross-Channel pigeon racing ban must end, MP says

MP John Healey (left) with Mick McGrevy from Goldthorpe, who has kept racing pigeons since he was 12

New post-Brexit rules preventing cross-Channel pigeon races unless the birds' owners first get extra paperwork filled in must be overturned, an MP has said.

The new animal health regulations, due to be introduced in October, mean pigeons will need a health certificate signed by a vet before racing.

South Yorkshire Labour MP John Healey said he had written to the government after complaints from pigeon fanciers.

He said the issue should have been ironed out during Brexit negotiations.

• More Yorkshire stories

As well as health certificates for the birds, the new rules - which were originally due to start in April before the EU agreed to extend the transitional period until October - also say pigeons must have been in the EU for 21 days before racing.

Member states can apply their own pigeon racing rules and France already requires an animal health certificate, but many UK owners want the requirements removed altogether.

'Stringent regulations'

Mr Healey, Labour MP for Wentworth and Dearne, said he had written to Environment Secretary George Eustice over the "low-risk" birds after he was contacted by concerned pigeon owners, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"Owners appreciate the need for stringent regulations for movement into the EU," Mr Healey said.

"But these birds are low-risk and are not being imported, only transported then released."

Mick McGrevy, 73, who has kept pigeons since he was 12 and has 100 near his home in Goldthorpe, said pigeon owners needed to "get back to the racing we enjoy and have been doing for decades".

Mr McGrevy, a former chairman and life vice-president of the National Flying Club, which organises races from France and Spain, said the birds usually complete the 500-mile trip in just a few hours and return home the same day.

Mr Healey has urged the UK government to discuss the issue with the French government, and the Royal Pigeon Racing Association has also raised concerns.

In a statement, a UK government spokesperson said: "The EU Commission has recently agreed to allow consignments of racing pigeons from GB to continue to enter the EU and Northern Ireland as they did before the new EU Animal Health Regulation rules applied.

"After 20 October, however, consignments must meet the EU's import requirements and be accompanied by the appropriate Export Health Certificate."