The All Party Parliamentary Pigeon Racing Group held its inaugural meeting on 22nd November in the House of Commons.

The new group, chaired by Chris Davis MP (Conservative, Brecon & Radnorshire) aims to raise the profile of this historic national pastime among politicians and ensure the voices of over 40,000 active pigeon racers in the United Kingdom are heard in Westminster.

The APPG is a cross-party organisation, with MPs and peers from all parties. The Vice-Chair is Nigel Adams MP (Conservative, Selby & Ainsty); other supporters include Jenny Chapman MP, Nick Thomas Symonds MP, Margaret Ritchie MP, Lord Naseby and Jim Shannon MP. The sport was once widely supported by MPs and peers, with an annual Lords versus Commons pigeon race held. It is hoped that the APPG’s programme of events will revive a charitable version of this historic race in Spring 2017.

The APPG is supported by Pigeon Racing UK & Ireland, the RPRA and the Welsh Homing Union amongst others.

Chris Davies MP said: ‘I am delighted to be the first chairman of the new All Party Parliamentary Pigeon Racing Group. The sport is part of the social fabric of Britain and I hope we can help colleagues here in Westminster gain a better understanding of some of the problems it faces but also appreciate the great charitable and educational work pigeon racers undertake in their communities.’

Ian Evans, General Manager of the Royal Pigeon Racing Association commented: ‘We are very proud to see legislators in Westminster embrace our sport in this way and are excited to have the opportunity to show MPs the good things our members do in their constituencies – as well as help them enjoy our sport.’