2024-07-09 01:21:18
The new Minister of Deregulation and Transformation, Federico Sturzenneger, He gave details of what his work agenda will be like and announced that the first project he will send to Congress is the much-touted “Leaf Law” which, among its functions, will seek to “repeal laws that make no sense.” Among the examples, he said -in a sarcastic tone- that he will seek to eliminate the law that regulates “pigeon racing.” But in addition to earning the laughter of some interviewers, his announcement generated the reaction of fans of the “colombofilia”, the art of training carrier pigeons. A discipline that was even established as a sporting activity in 2015 by order of the National Congress itself.
“Argentina is a bit overloaded with rules and regulations and the president has asked me to move forward in taking the foot off productive activity, it is one of the most effective ways to promote economic activity, employment and growth,” were the first words of Sturzenneger, upon assuming his new position. Then, through his social networks, he made a series of posts, reviewing the tasks that he will be in charge of, and used as an example the repeal of a law linked to a century-old sport. “Our legislative agenda will be resumed with the hojarasca law(s): obsolete laws that represent risks to economic freedom, obstacles, or are simply obsolete (such as those that regulate pigeon racing, force impossible procedures, or promote pollution)“, said the former president of the Central Bank.
The truth is “pigeon racing” or “colombophilia” As it is officially called, it is a sporting activity understood as “the art of creating and training carrier pigeons”. It was approved on September 21, 2015 by the National Congress, under Law 27,171.
This activity has been practiced since 1886, from the arrival of the first carrier pigeons to the Buenos Aires town of Zárate. However, with the legislation It was established that “the racing pigeon is known as the subspecies of the wild pigeon (Columba Livia), endowed with particular conditions in terms of its phenotype and development of its natural orientation skills, which allow it to return to its loft (natural habitat) from great distances and fly under normal conditions uninterruptedly to reach its destination.”
The news of the deregulation, which was announced by Sturzenegger himself, provoked an almost immediate reaction among pigeon fanciers (the name given to trainers of racing pigeons). So much so that, from the Argentine Pigeon Federation (FECOAR) They announced that they will file a complaint with the Argentine Olympic Committee before the Secretary of Tourism, Environment and Sports, Daniel Scioli, and will try to have a meeting with the new Minister of Deregulation.
“The truth is that the post took us by surprise because This law cost us a lot to obtain and I do not see how the existence of this law could harm the State.”said Osvado Dagnino, President of FECOAR, in dialogue with the media Double Yellow.
“It focuses on the protection of breeding and the practice of the sport itself. It is a world sport recognized by the International Olympic Committee, But it is little known and the law gives us tools to make ourselves known,” added the director.
Asked about the state’s role in this activity, Dagnino said: “The pigeons are supervised by SENASA (“We are the National Service for Health and Food Quality) and they are athletes. We move more than 13 trucks per weekend to release more than 20 thousand pigeons in the competitions and the law allows the transport without any problem for the transporter.”
According to official figures, currently There are 136 pigeon racing clubs in Argentina and none of them receive compensation from the national State. “We do not ask the State for anything and it does not make any expenditures on our behalf,” said the FECOAR representative.
And he concluded: “This (in reference to the possible deregulation) causes us a lot of harm because people sometimes complain and the law protects us in this regard and means that we do not have problems in any municipality. Since the law has been in place, not a single pigeon loft has been closed in all of Argentina.”