British Bird Council
CLOSED
RINGS
All Captive Bred British Birds Must be closed rung to be able to sell or show them.
Rings can be purchased from a DEFRA authorised supplier of rings such as the British Bird Council.
Rings are simple to fit when chicks are in the nest by following the steps below to fit the correct sized ring:
CLOSED RING CHART
THE BBC HAS MADE EVERY EFFORT
TO ENSURE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS
CORRECT.
THE RING SIZES LISTED FOR NON-SCHEDULE BIRDS ARE FOR GUIDANCE ONLY.
IT REMAINS THE BREEDER'S RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE SURE THAT BIRDS IN HIS POSSESSION ARE LEGALLY RINGED
BULLFINCH & GOLDFINCH RING SIZES:
PLEASE NOTE IN THE INTEREST OF THE WELFARE OF THE BIRDS LARGER RINGS ARE NOW ADVOCATED FOR THE LARGER RACES OF NORTHERN/SIBERIAN BIRDS;
SIZE D (2.85mm) FOR NORTHERN/SIBERIAN GOLDFINCH Carduelis carduelis major
SIZE E (3.10mm) FOR THE NORTHERN/SIBERIAN BULLFINCH Pyrrhula pyrrhula pyrrhula.
IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE IN REGARDS TO SALE AND EXHIBITION, A BIRD IS NOT LAWFULLY CAPTIVE BRED IF THE CLOSED RING CAN BE REMOVED FROM THE LEG OF A FULLY GROWN ADULT BIRD. THESE LARGER RINGS ARE SPECIFIC TO THE LARGER RACES OF GOLDFINCH AND BULLFINCH, USING THEM ON SMALLER OR MIXED RACE BIRDS COULD LEAVE YOU OPEN TO PROSECUTION
Please Note:
If you
do use these larger ring sizes, you are required by Natural England
to submit applications to sell and show these
birds.
These licences are quite straight forward to submit online. The
reason can be stated as;
"the Schedule 3 prescribed ring is for a Native bird and not
large enough for a Northern bird and thus you have used the larger
ring in the interests of the birds
welfare"
The more applications received, the more Natural England will
realise that these larger ring sizes are indeed required for the
Northern Species
A20 - Licence to Sell:
A20
A21 - Licence to
Show: A21
ADVICE ON CANARY RINGS
In response to a
number of enquiries as to which size of closed ring to use on
canaries
we give the following advice:
If you wish to ring your canaries with BBC (brown or C.O.M. ID colour coded) closed rings the following sizes will be found suitable for the various breeds.
