Written by John Swire
The British Pig & Poultry Fair 2020 (May 12-13) and Grassland and Muck 2020 (May 20-21) have been cancelled, after Prime Minister Boris Johnson said mass gatherings should not take place.
Mr Johnson said that while the risk of Coronavirus disease transmission at mass gatherings remained low, the Government was ‘moving emphatically away from’ mass gatherings requiring emergency workers.
The trustees of the Royal Agricultural Society of England (RASE) met earlier in the day and agreed that both events should be cancelled, which was scheduled for May 12 and 13, would be cancelled if the Government advised that gatherings should not take place.
Following Mr Johnson’s announcement said, the Fair organising team said: “Therefore in light of the Prime Minister’s address this evening, Pig & Poultry will not take place in 2020.
“While we are sorry to make this decision to cancel, it is the right decision to protect the health of the industry and indeed the wider population in these unprecedented circumstances.”
“We will be in touch in due course to confirm future plans for the Fair.”
The Pig and Poultry Fair is the biggest of a whole raft of industry events cancelled or postponed due to the virus.
At present all AHDB events, including stockperson training courses, small-scale producer meetings and pig clubs, have been cancelled until 17 April. These include:
March 23, Cornwall pig club
March 24, East Midlands pig club
March 24, Somerset pig club
March 25, Shropshire pig club
March 25, The Fens pig club
March 26, South Yorkshire pig club
March 30, Exeter pig club
April 1, Surrey small-scale producer meeting
April 2, Midlands pig club
April 6, Gloucester pig club
“We will continue to review the situation and will make a decision on events beyond this date nearer the time,” AHDB said.
The NPA first ever Pig Industry Group (PIG) meeting, bringing together its Producer and Allied Industry Groups was due to take place in London today. It will now be held by teleconference.
The organising committee of the Irish Pig Health Society (IPHS) Symposium 2020 has postponed its 2020 Symposium, due to be held in Portlaoise on Tuesday April 7.
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