"THE C.O.M. NEWS", MARCH 2006 nr. 115

ANNEX nr. 9

Mr. General President,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear Congressmen, dear Friends,

Thank you very much for coming. I hope you have had a good journey here, and I’d like to welcome you to our annual Congress in Zutphen.

A year has passed since the World Show in Bad Salzuflen and, sadly, in the course of the year, many of our friends left us, never to return. Let us remember them for a moment.

2005 has been a horrible year for us all, and we need to put it behind us as quickly as possible.

Great many international shows had been planned. Unfortunately, in all countries, many had to be cancelled on account of national and European preventative health measures.

Personally, I think that, if we don’t want to relive the same situation in future years, C.O.M. and all its member countries should begin straight away making representations to the national, European and international health authorities to the effect that our birds - which are born and spend their lives in bird sheds, and are shown only in closed show hall - should not be regarded in the same light as poultry (chickens, ducks, geese, etc.), but as special breeds.

We must all stand firm in the face of this serious problem, and be strong. It is only by action that we shall be able to save our hobby.

We had planned to hold a meeting of experts for Section E - Type Canaries - in the course of 2005. It was not possible to organise this meeting at that time, so it will be rescheduled for the first half of 2006 (probably towards the end of March).
Details of the time and place of this meeting will be sent out to all C.O.M. member bodies as soon as possible.

Several O.M.J. judge examination sessions took place in 2005. As a consequence of the progress and development we see in all sections, the standard of the examinations has been raised.
The O.M.J. Secretary will give you details of these examination results.

Before I finish, I’d like to thank the General President and other members of the C.O.M.-B.D., the O.M.J. Secretary and my other colleagues of the O.M.J.-E.C., for all the help they have given me in the course of this exercise.

I hope with all my heart to meet you next year in happier circumstances, and I should like to offer you and your families my best wishes for 2006.

Thank you for your attention.

Pierre Groux
O.M.J. President