A Brief
Guide To Buying/Selling And Exhibiting Captive Bred British And
European Birds, Their Mules And Hybrids
A BRIEF
GUIDE TO BUYING/SELLING AND EXHIBITING CAPTIVE BRED BRITISH AND
EUROPEAN BIRDS, THEIR MULES AND
HYBRIDS
Basically, species are divided into 3
sections:
Schedule
3 listed
species
Schedule
4 listed
species
"Non
Schedule" - which covers all species not listed in 3 or 4
All birds listed in Schedule 3 (19 commonly bred
species) are required to be closed ringed for Sale and Exhibition
in accordance with regulations set out in SI1220 "Ringing of
Certain Birds".
The ring must have been issued by a Government
appointed body, presently the BBC or IOA. Captive bred birds not
ringed in accordance with regulations can be gifted (obtain and
retain proof of gifting) or they can be sold or exhibited if
granted special individual licences on application for Licences A20
and A21
respectively.
Purchasers are advised to satisfy themselves that
the bird/s is/are correctly ringed with a closed ring of the
correct size with no signs of tampering. No documentation is
required but if in doubt of your expertise obtain a receipt which
lists details of seller, species and ring ID
etc.
Schedule 4 listed species may only be
sold/exhibited on registration and issue of a licence and must be
ringed, tagged or microchipped in accordance with
regulations.
Captive bred Non-Schedule species may only be
sold, exchanged or exhibited under General licence, presently GL18
and GL14 (England) respectively and their equivalents in Scotland
and Wales.
The seller, purchaser or exhibitor must conform
to the conditions and regulations set out in the licence which
briefly means they have to be captive bred and correctly closed
ringed in accordance with licence regulations and must presently be
accompanied with proof of breeding documentation (Scotland has
removed the requirement for documentation).
A number of species mainly certain birds of prey,
Falcons, Hawks, Owls etc. and cities listed species require Article
10 certificates. Some species - mainly certain waterfowl are
not required to be closed
ringed.
Hybrids (which include mules) bred from Finches
and Softbills are not required to be closed ringed as they are not
listed species.
The bird species and their ring sizes can be
found on our ring chart (on reverse of order
form).
The order form/ring chart and link to licences
can also be found on this website