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54 – Purebred PIGEON
Left to right: Stefán Ragnarsson, Tumi Kolbeinsson and Magnús
Eyjólfsson in front of Stefán’s home loft – he has another much larger loft
elsewhere. photo by Olgeir Andresson
Magnús Eyjólfsson - photo by Olgeir Andresson
who like to keep. Not every pigeon fancier likes to breed but only to
keep beautiful pigeons and that is a fact often forgotten.
It is very difficult and expensive to transport pigeons to Iceland.
Although millions of migratory birds fly here every year, many of
them surely carry most of the diseases that can affect birds; the au-
thorities make very strict requirements for imports based on the fact
that Iceland is an isolated island where many diseases are supposedly
unknown. A three-week quarantine is required before the birds are
sent to the country. An official veterinarian must take a blood sample
from each bird and test for Salmonella and Paramyxo. Birds that have
been vaccinated may not be imported. When the birds have arrived in
the country, a four-week home quarantine is required. •