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Royal Patronage

Following the funeral of the late Queen Elizabeth II, a request was sent to Buckingham Palace to ask if HM The King would continue as Patron of the Royal Pigeon Racing Association. With much regret this request has sadly been declined due to the Royal family’s workload. It is our understanding that this does not […]

RPRA 2024 One Loft Race Updates

Below are the latest updates from the new RPRA One Loft Manager, Jonathan Swift. You can keep up-to-date with developments on Jonathan’s blog on the dedicated One Loft site. ***NB – APPLICATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED*** Update 04/05/24 The pigeons will all be injected and ETS rings fitted next weekend (the new rings arrived yesterday) and […]

Happy Retirement, Julia!

RPRA Office Manager, Julia Field, retired on Friday after more than 10 years with the Association. She said: “I have thoroughly enjoyed my time working at the RPRA and will especially miss all the people. Thank you to everyone for the wonderful gifts and for sending me off in style”. We wish Julia all the […]

Captive Bird Registration with APHA

Registration of your birds with Defra New measures to better protect the poultry sector from future avian influenza outbreaks have been set out by the government today (19 March). Under the changes announced, there will be new requirements for all bird keepers – regardless of the size of their flock – to officially register their […]

RPRA Drug Testing Programme 2024

Council of the RPRA has approved drug testing for the 2024 season The RPRA now uses a UK-based laboratory for its drug testing programme. The process is detailed within Appendix G of the RPRA Rules, and includes the following: • Only trained personnel will be able to carry out sample collections on behalf of the […]

Membership Levy 2024

As I said in my last report, the RPRA has been underfunded for many years and has been subsidised by the sales of the BHW. Due to the nature of the publishing business and the drop in membership leading to an equal drop in the circulation numbers of the BHW, that subsidy has faltered to […]

BHW Show of the Year 2024

Thank you to everyone that came to the BHW Show of the Year 2024 over the weekend, whether as a fancier, trader, official or staff. It was another great weekend, and a full report will follow over the next few days. (Image below courtesy of Craig Szlatoszlavek.)   The results (subject to ring verification etc) […]

RPRA National Awards 2023

The RPRA National Awards for 2023 have now been determined. As with the last few years, the majority were decided by coefficient calculations, and others by decision of the RPRA Council (marked *). The award winners are listed below – our congratulations to them all. The full list, including performances and calculations, can be seen […]

New children’s book on Mary of Exeter

Dickin Medal winning carrier pigeon, Mary of Exeter, is the subject of a new beautifully illustrated children’s book – “Mary, The Pigeon Who Never Gave Up”. Written by Katie Villa & Simon Hall, the book is illustrated by Rosie Race and the People of Exeter. ‘Mary is a pigeon. A very fast, rather cheeky pigeon […]

Animals in War Remembrance Gathering

RPRA President Les Blacklock and his wife Meryl attended the annual remembrance gathering at the National Animals in War Memorial, Brook Gate, Park Lane, London, when 27 animal charities and organisations were present. Following a one minute’s silence, Cath Bourg from the Pet Plan Charitable Trust announced that this year marked the 80th anniversary of […]