Helping each other to keep down costs and encourage positive public relations

Now that the young bird season has begun, I would like to remind our members that there are rules governing the repatriation of our birds, and the most important is the wing stamp or telephone number on a ring.

By abiding by these rules, a fancier contacting another fancier resolves the stray bird issue very quickly, but if a member of the public reports one of your birds, it is most important that we respond in a professional manner. If a non-fancier does report your stray pigeon, please take their telephone number and postcode then contact your local region secretary or RPRA Head Office. They can provide you with the contact details of the nearest local fancier who you could ask to collect the bird on your behalf, and if we all help each other we can very quickly revert to a fancier dealing with another fancier.

I am mindful of the huge cost of fuel when collecting a pigeon or employing a courier service. By working together for the sake of good public relations, we can make use of the many transporters liberating throughout the country each weekend, or the bird can be recuperated for a few days and liberated in more favourable conditions.

Chris Sutton
RPRA CEO