News

DEFRA and Natural England ‘will consider’ General Licence change

The UK's bird fancy may be on the brink of getting its first ever international show on UK soil, after DEFRA

responded positively to an approach by COM-UK requesting a change to the General Licence. (See News, January 18.)

Chris Smith, vice president of COM-UK and chairman of the National Council for Aviculture (NCA) recently met officials from both DEFRA and Natural England in Bristol to explore the possibility of staging an international show. And he was told they were more than happy to consider the proposal.

Mr Smith said: "It looks optimistic. This begins the discussions. The dialogue has started and although there will be lots of hurdles to jump before we get to where we want to be, we can start looking for venues and sponsors."

The key issue is the length of time birds are allowed to be kept in cages in the UK. The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 limits to 72 hours the time that birds can be kept in a show cage.

To stage an international show, some birds would need to be in cages for up to 10 days. The General Licence to stage a bird show is issued by Natural England and DEFRA's animal health department, and this would need to be changed or a dispensation provided.

The ultimate aim of COM-UK is to stage the World Show in the UK. A major international show somewhere in the South East of England is viewed as a significant step towards that goal. Mr Smith added: "It's good news from Natural England that they are prepared to consider a longer period for an international show and are happy to start preliminary discussions."

Mr Smith also said another positive that came out of the meeting was that DEFRA agreed to reinstate the regular bi-annual meetings with the fancy via COM-UK and the NCA.