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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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) […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
The pigeon loft at King’s Hawford School, Worcester, featured on the BBC‘s Great Railway Journeys last night. Click on the image above to watch the episode on iPlayer.
Following the update on new Rule 238 below, clock setters please be aware that the scheduled annual maintenance shutdown of the MSF service to allow safe working on the masts and antennas is taking place from today until Friday 7th July. The service will be off air from 8am until 6pm each day, including weekends. […]
October 1st, 2026
September 28th, 2026
June 26th, 2026
