The International Centre for Birds of Prey’s Newent based centre to close to the public

After nearly 55 years of sharing their birds with the public, the International Centre for Birds of Prey’s location in Newent, Gloucestershire is to close to the public, permanently as of February 16^th 2022. The charity will continue at a new location as a private charitable facility, working to conserve birds of prey around the world.

The International Centre for Birds of Prey (ICBP) was founded in May 1967 as the Falconry Centre by Phillip Glasier and family. It is the oldest dedicated bird of prey centres in the world and has worked, under the direction of Glasier’s daughter Jemima Parry-Jones, to conserve birds of prey both at home and internationally.

Despite cost saving measures and widely supported fundraising efforts from the charity, the impacts of COVID-19  have been too great. Thanks to the furlough scheme and the dedication of the staff and volunteers, the charity zoo survived the worst of the pandemic and therefore, were ineligible to receive support funds from the Government’s extensively debated Zoo Support Fund and Zoo Animal Fund. This, coupled with the ever-increasing costs of running a zoo, our location and aging infrastructure have forced the difficult decision to close to the public in order to allow the charity to continue its work.

However, ICBP is viewing this step as a new phase in its long history and is excited by the prospect of contributing to conservation in different ways. Its new facility will be focussed on conservation breeding, building on the knowledge and expertise already fostered from involvement with projects such as Saving Asia’s Vultures from Extinction. It will also be using the opportunity to develop its ability to deliver new and innovative, specialist courses and lectures to support the wider conservation community.

Jemima Parry-Jones MBE, Director of ICBP, said of the next step:

“ICBP has been the whole of my life for its 55 years, a lifetime of commitment to birds of prey. Over the years many other people have also been involved with and assisted ICBP, so this change has been a very difficult decision.  However it is vitally important for us not to lose that work, and the ethics behind it all, that has been given so freely. We are taking this step in order to consolidate our knowledge and expertise, reduce our workload and costs and look forwards to slightly different and exciting conservation tasks ahead”

The charity’s closure is immediate; We will continue the remainder of the Owl Evenings and Experience Days up to March 16^th. All ticket holders, experience days, and gift vouches are asked to go to the website for information on their tickets. All are advised to check their emails for updates and more information about next steps and answers to common queries can be found in the dedicated FAQ section of ICBP’s website.

This is a bittersweet time for ICBP, an end of an era and this part of its life, but also a great opportunity. The charity would like to thank all staff, volunteers, members and visitors – both past and present – for their support and dedication. It is hoped that supporters are as excited as the charity is for these next steps, and updates will be available via the website and newsletters.