Here is the key statistics report given to the RPRA Council Meeting on 30 October 2026. Click here to download the detailed figures.
Sales
We sold 494,348 rings this year (an increase of 0.4% from last year). Ring sales are broadly stable after strong 2027 pre-sales in August and September.
Clock seal sales are down by 66%. This is the correct average from previous years showing the move away from traditional clocks towards ETS Systems. Last year’s statistics included a large January order which elevated Clock Seal totals. Basket seal sales increased by 29%, mainly because of high sales in March from the Up North Combine and Tower Pigeons Ltd.
Race rubber sales decreased by 18%. Again a factor for Increased usage of ETS Systems. Race Rubber sales appear to decrease by 20-30K units year on year.
Stray reports
We received a total of 22,306 stray reports, an increase of 5% from the previous year. Likely due to the unusual period of heatwaves experienced this summer affecting racing.
As you can see telephone, text and email reports have increased, however website reports fell slightly. This is likely a result of the introduction of the online verification tool, which is now being used to better check ring numbers rather than using the stray system to verify ownership.
The membership support team have successfully organised 399 stray collections from November 2025 to September 2026. From January to September this year, these collections rose from 220 to 384, an increase of about 75%. This is a service my team are especially proud to be able to provide our members, since streamlining our other processes and workload within our team which has helped us provide an overall better service and saving our members expensive courier costs.
Partnerships and dissolutions
Combined partnership/dissolution requests from 2025-26 fell from 468 to 227. This is a reduction of about 51%.
The number of members added to partnerships is broadly unchanged with 71 being added compared to 70 last year. The number of members being removed from partnerships has fallen by 58.8% from 456 to 188, showing a return to pre-levy and subscription cost increase levels.
Racing Support
Distance calculations totalled 940,488, this is down by 7%. Loft-location requests totalled 345, down by 4%. Many organisations appeared to finish racing earlier this season again due to the heatwaves experienced. A drop in membership numbers is likely to also be a factor in these service reductions as well as the increased use of TPRS to gain distances.
Inland race programmes increased from 180 to 185. However inland site bookings fell from 2466 to 2264. Guernsey permits issued this year have increased from 8 to 19.
Continental race programmes fell from 16 to 14. French permit applications rose from 40 to 54 (an increase of 35.0%). Ferry bookings rose from 56 to 80 (an increase of 42.9%). We believe the large increase in ferry bookings is a result of the amount of bookings that required cancellations which totalled 15 for 2026. These cancellations were due to weather, cancellation of vehicles and issues with programme changes or having to be completely cancelled.
Other Activity — November to September
Transfer forms fell from 4119 to 3572 (a decrease of 13.3%). The move from 6 to 10 birds on a transfer form means we are receiving fewer forms in the post. Automated transfers totalled 12,863, compared with 13,293 last year.
The number of ring lists processed has increased from 987 to 1,016, reflecting our improved internal tracking of incoming lists. Foreign ring registrations fell from 1,378 to 875 this year, reflecting seasonal registration demand.
Incoming answered calls fell to 35,452 (a decrease of 3.1%). This may reflect increased email usage and an improved service reducing the need for additional calls.
Outgoing post totalled 8,970 (an increase of 9.7%) from last year. This statistic covers franked post only, but does include BHW outgoing post which could account for the increase. Franking statistics should reduce moving forward as we introduce the use of Royal Mail Tracked 48 service for ring sales and high value sale items. By introducing this new direction for outgoing post we hope it will provide an improved delivery service to our members and reduce the risk of lost products through the postal system.
Incoming Post and Email
Incoming post from November to September fell to 4,278 (a decrease of 16.6%). We can see more people are using email for a swifter response and easier service. With the increase in email usage the following figures are new statistics which we hope to report on moving forward..
Post vs Email — July to September
From July to September, incoming post fell from 1,381 to 905 (a decrease of 34.5%), comparing the same quarter with the previous year.
During the same period we recorded 4,040 incoming emails across various department inboxes, each being actioned by a member of staff.
The following totals cover recorded department inbox emails managed across our two main departments, Membership & Racing Support. Personal emails are not included in this statistic so the overall total of incoming emails would be much higher given the 11 staff members at the RPRA.
Membership Support received 612 emails and Racing Support received 765.
Distances received 687 emails, Strays received 393 and Sales received 1,583.
Incoming post may continue to fall, however incoming emails are now becoming a main contact channel between us and our membership, as the natural move to digital continues.
