Cage & Aviary Birds Magazine No.5777 Seriously Sociable Back Issue

A FEW FANCIERS have been mock-moaning to me that their weekends are booked solid with shows all the way through into next month. Come off it, I say, what do you want to be doing on a Saturday – the shopping? Non-bird people tend to get all gloomy in October and November as the clocks flip back and the year topples towards the winter solstice. By contrast, this hobby is
absolutely buzzing, and it’s a pleasure to pick up on this as the news stories and show reports pour in at C&AB. For instance, it’s always gratifying when a show reports an entry increase. This time that’s been the case with those enterprising folk at the Norfolk FBA (see page 2). Show organiser Nick Elliston reckons foreign fanciers are getting more skilful at breeding more birds, and that’s being reflected in show-bench numbers. If your show has an increase this time round, make sure to let us know – and if you believe you know the reason for the increase, do share your insight with your fellow hobbyists. This is one area of the fancy where it’s essential that we pull together. The same could be said for the British and Irish Yorkshire canary fancy, according to Brian Keenan on page 13. Last year Brian expressed his concern that overseas demand for our Yorkshire canaries meant that dealers were acquiring virtually all the domestic surplus for export, thereby starving newcomers of foundation stock. Same again this time, Brian reckons. The solution’s obvious,
surely – tithing in some form. If all breeders reserved even a few birds for donation or sale to entry-level fanciers, the hobby here would be guaranteed a future. As things stand, says Brian, “market forces” have neatly cut off our Yorkshire fancy’s intake. Can we ignore the warning? The
outcome is in the fancy’s own hands.