General News
16 August, 2026
Ban may see pigeon race postponed
THE much-anticipated Great Australian Pigeon Race may be postponed if the current suspension on pigeon racing extends beyond its anticipated August 21 re-start date.
The Warrnambool Racing Pigeon Club is acting in compliance with the order of chief veterinary officer for Victoria Graeme Cooke which has seen the suspension of pigeon racing until 11.59pm on August 21 (unless officially revoked earlier by Dr Cooke).
This order relates to all persons with poultry and birds in the southern section of Victoria – in wake of the detection of the globally circulating H5N1 HPAI (high-pathogenicity avian influenza).
By early August, Victoria had recorded 53 positive cases in wild birds, including in the south west.
Should the suspension on pigeon racing be extended passed August 21, the Great Australian Pigeon Race scheduled for August 30 will be rescheduled.
The race will double as both a centenary celebration for the Warrnambool club and a fundraiser for South West Healthcare’s new prostate cancer detector system for the Warrnambool Base Hospital.
It is hoped the community will get behind this inaugural event and sponsor the pigeons – and help raise the $115,000 needed for the detector system.
In the interim, businesses and individuals across the district are encouraged to sponsor a pigeon prior to the August 30 cut-off.
