Birdfair – ‘Glastonbury of birdwatching’ – cancelled after 30 years
The “Glastonbury of birdwatching”, Birdfair, has been scrapped, to the dismay of conservationists across Britain.
The annual event, held since 1989, took place at Rutland Water nature reserve and featured talks and fundraising events. Celebrities such as Chris Packham, Bill Oddie and Deborah Meaden were among those the festival attracted.
The Leicester and Rutland Wildlife Trust (LRWT), which ran the event, said that the “difficult decision” was made partly because of climate crisis concerns, as Birdfair attracted attendees from around the world.
It said: “The current format of Birdfair is heavily influenced by travel and tourism, with exhibitors travelling from 80 different countries to attend. The carbon footprint generated both by the event itself and the activities it promotes does not now fit well with our own strategy towards tackling the climate crisis. The event would need considerable redesign to resolve this.”
Various wildlife tourism companies took stands at the event that brought in vital revenue, but some critics have expressed concern about their environmental impact. Other reasons cited include financial risk exacerbated by the pandemic, trampling of the nature reserve and an overall business risk to the wildlife trust.
Anthony Biddle, the LRWT chair, said: “We have thought long and hard about all these concerns, and the decision has been an extremely difficult and sad one for all our staff and trustees. But we knew that it was now time to make the future clear, in the interests of the event, and of everyone who is involved in it or supports it.“Although we are bringing our involvement with Birdfair to a close, we are pleased to be able to announce a donation of £15,005 to Birdlife International. This amount is made up of direct donations and auction proceeds in aid of their helmeted hornbill conservation project supported by our virtual Birdfair in 2020.“We hope the legacy of Birdfair may live on in similar events, run by organisations with greater resources than our own.”
The event came to mainstream attention in 2019 when it was attended by Carrie Johnson, the wife of the prime minister. She spoke at a panel about her experience seeing puffins, and her opposition to trophy hunting. it was her first speech as the partner of Boris Johnson.
At the time, she described her experience birding at RSPB’s Bempton Cliffs.
She said: “If [Birdfair] is birdwatching’s Glastonbury then Bempton is like its cathedral – gannets, razorbills, guillemots, all soaring and screeching and diving with the majestic backdrop of those sheer chalk walls.”
The cancellation has caused confusion among conservationists, as it was a highlight of their annual calendar.
The founder, Tim Appleton, started the event in 1989 and claims he was left in the dark about the decision to scrap it. “They didn’t even have the courtesy to tell me in advance,” he said. “Thankfully RSPB contacted me to warn me of the announcement.
“I started and ran Birdfair for 30+ years raising in total £40m+ for global conservation. It’s a very sad day.”
Birdfair is not completely dead, however, as the RSPB has decided to take up the mantle and run a series of similar festivals.
Rebecca Munro, director of fundraising and communications, said: “We are immensely proud of our involvement in Birdfair, which over the past 32 years has delighted thousands of people who love birds and raised more than £5m for overseas projects run via Birdlife International. “At this point in time, we feel it is very unlikely that Birdfair will take place in 2022 because of the lack of lead time for the organisation of a successful event … Over the coming months we will be speaking to others who love the Birdfair just as much as we do, in order to understand their views on the future of the event.”