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Com-UK/NCA unveil plan for international show in England

A major international bird show to rival the great European events is being planned by COM-UK, the UK branch of the Confédération Ornithologique Mondiale (COM), and the NCA.

The show, which would probably be staged somewhere in the South East of England, would be seen as a first step towards the UK hosting a World Show.

Plans for the event may hinge on a meeting – scheduled for the day Cage & Aviary Birds went to press – between Chris Smith of COM-UK and the NCA, and Caroline Rigg of DEFRA's animal health department.

Mr Smith, NCA chairman and COM-UK vice president, said:  "My meeting with DEFRA is about getting a dispensation or relaxation of the General Licence. Currently in the UK, as we all know, birds can only stay in cages for a maximum of 72 hours. If we have a COM international show, run on their standards, we're looking at needing at least eight to 10 days. I think there's a possibility that DEFRA could give us an exemption to allow for the birds to be in cages longer."

This move comes as there are increasing demands for UK fanciers to modernise and to closed-ring their birds. Mr Smith, who is also the secretary of the Fife Fancy Federation, said the UK fancy needs to become more integrated into the wider European fancy if it is to grow and prosper. He said: "Most people in the UK fancy aren't closed-ringing. In the Fife fancy, for example, people are totally against the compulsory closed-ringing of birds.

"But I favour closed-ringing: you can tell which are your birds and, especially with novices, it stops fanciers going out and buying champions. There's still a tendency here to buy to win. Closed-ringing would put a stop to that."

Mr Smith said he felt the rest of Europe is more enthusiastic about birdkeeping than the British. He said: "I agree with what [COM-UK president] Richard Lumley has said, that the British fancy is amateurish compared with the Continent. Look at the entries at some of the international shows – in the thousands. We're lucky if we get several hundred.

"Britain is still seen, to some extent, as the home of birdkeeping because of our high quality. But I believe that the unwillingness of the British fancy to get involved in the wider European fancy will have a detrimental effect. Isolationism will add to the decline."

Mr Smith said he expected it to be five or six years before a World Show is staged in Britain. But he added: "Make no mistake, having the World Show in the UK would be a huge boost for the fancy here."