Activities including the importing, breeding, trading in and translocation of pigeons are now listed as prohibited activities in terms of the Government Gazette of August 1, 2014: – the Invasive and Alien Species List as published by the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs.
The prohibition includes the “releasing of any specimen of a listed invasive species” which effectively means that releasing pigeons to race or as homing pigeons is now illegal.
The NSPCA has various welfare concerns regarding the sport of pigeon racing.
These include but are not limited to the rate of attrition during races.
That is, the high number of pigeons who simply do not ever reach their race destination for various reasons, including exhaustion and racing taking place in inclement or extreme weather conditions.
The Statement of Policy of the SPCA movement opposes animal racing in any form.
The NSPCA’s Special Projects Unit has notified relevant industry role players, such as the South African National Pigeons Organisation (SANPO), that the legislation has come into effect and that the NSPCA is obligated to report any and all violations to the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs.
