Britain’s fanciers will be pleased to learn that following Confederation members’ meeting with the Secretary of State for the Environment DEFRA has reviewed the licence conditions today following a fundamental review of the Veterinary Risk Assessment (VRA).

In short, the 7 day isolation period that pigeons have to undergo following the return from a continental race is withdrawn. This will mean that if you race a pigeon from an EU country one week you can now resend that pigeon to any race the following weekend. The condition preventing any birds from outside the UK attending a race before they have been in this country at least 28 days has also been withdrawn. This means that, in particular, fanciers from the Channel Islands will be able to send their entries to marking stations for national races.

I stress that these changes only affect racing and not showing. I understand that a different VRA is being undertaken for shows. This is because the licence for showing (and gatherings such as sales) affects many bird species other than just racing pigeons.

You can read the full licence conditions at http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/diseases/notifiable/disease/ai/keptbirds/genlicence.htm

Peter Bryant
General Manager
The Royal Pigeon Racing Association