Good news! Shows in England can start again… We’ve simplified the show regulations to give clubs much greater flexibility and to help them hold COVID-compliant shows.
We look forward to meeting up with you all soon!
Read more below…
The National Cavy Club has studied the Government’s latest announcements regarding the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions and is delighted to announce that it will be sanctioning the resumption of outdoor cavy shows in England with immediate effect (*** see footnote below) and of indoor shows in England from the 19th July 2021 (or any revised dates released by the Government for transition to Step 4). Unfortunately, comparable dates for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have yet to be announced.
We hope this announcement will be welcomed and that it will enable clubs to hold shows once again and for fanciers and friends to meet up and enjoy our hobby!
The Government is advising that some precautions are likely to remain in place for the foreseeable future. So, we will now be entering an ‘Amber’ period when shows will need to implement the National Cavy Club’s current COVID-19 Show Regulations.
These regulations were compiled and agreed following a consultation exercise with our members and affiliated clubs in September last year. They were written well before vaccines were a realistic possibility and for a scenario where shows might need to be held with strict social distancing in place. In the event, restrictions preventing people gathering were in place far longer than we might have imagined, and we are emerging into a world where we are ‘learning to live’ with the virus. This has enabled us to relax some of the more onerous requirements to ensure our regulations are not more restrictive than those imposed by the Government.
We have updated the NCC COVID-19 Show Regulations in light of the most recent advice and will continue to monitor and review them to reflect future Government requirements or advice. You can find them here:
We are very keen that clubs start to plan their show programmes at the earliest opportunity, and we hope that the COVID-19 Regulations will give clubs greater flexibility and assist them in meeting the challenges of any Government restrictions. Clubs are encouraged to ‘think outside the box’ to address potential obstacles. For example, holding shows in marquees (whilst conforming to Government definitions of ‘outdoors’) might overcome capacity issues. Likewise, utilising Staging Option B might help where space is at a premium. Quite aside from the pandemic, this option might also help smaller or new clubs ‘get going’ without the expense or inconvenience of using traditional penning.
Please share your ideas so that we can pool resources and all learn from each other!
Now the boring bits…
The Amber period, when the COVID-19 Show Regulations will apply, will remain in place until further notice.
Please can club secretaries make contact with Claire Maydon via affiliation@nationalcavyclub.com to let her know the dates of your shows and your judges, and to confirm that your shows will be held under current National Cavy Club rules.
As previously advised, clubs that paid affiliation for shows in 2020 will see these rolled forward to 2021. New affiliations are always welcomed.
Notwithstanding all the above, we advise that clubs make contact with those responsible for their venues at the earliest opportunity to ensure they are able to comply with any specific restrictions that might be imposed and which might conflict with the ability to hold cavy shows.
Of course, our advice remains that clubs should not commit to making any arrangements that might have financial implications if restrictions change, and clubs should also be mindful that attendance at shows might be reduced as compared to pre-COVID levels for some considerable time after lockdown restrictions are lifted.
Good luck, and we look forward to seeing you all at shows in the near future!
National Cavy Club
17.06.2021
*** Footnote
Step 2 of the Government’s roadmap out of lockdown allowed for the holding of “agriculture shows” and “animal and pet shows”, providing that a) the event took place outdoors, b) attendees arrived and departed in a staggered manner throughout the day, AND c) it did not involve attendees converging on and congregating in a site for a specific discrete performance or activity.
It was our view that it would be impossible to hold cavy shows under such conditions.
At Step 3, these restrictions were relaxed a little, but still subject to onerous Government-imposed capacity limits.
UNTIL WE REACH STEP 4 (currently not before the 19th July), if they wish to hold outdoor shows, clubs must satisfy themselves that they are able to comply with these capacity limits (which might be as low as 30 people) and that their facilities meet the Government’s definition of what is outdoor (e.g. for a marquee to be considered outdoor it may have to have at least 50% of its sides open).