Join Us at the 2026 Guinea Pig Forum

Following the success of previous events in 2024 and 2025, the Guinea Pig Welfare Forum returns on Tuesday, 22 September 2026, at the Crowne Plaza Birmingham City Centre. Organised by Burgess Pet Care, this one-of-a-kind forum continues its mission to elevate guinea pig welfare through expert-led education, collaboration, and advocacy.

There are still some places left, gab yours here:

Guinea Pig Welfare Forum 2026 Tickets, Tuesday, September 22  •  9:30 AM - 5 PM | Eventbrite

 Event Details

• Date: Tuesday, 22 September 2026
• Time: 09:30 – 17:00 BST
• Location: Crowne Plaza Birmingham City Centre, Holliday Street, Birmingham B1 1HH

Speaker Line-Up

This year’s forum features a diverse panel of experts in guinea pig health, behaviour, and welfare including:

• John Chitty, RCVS Advanced Practitioner in Zoological Medicine (Chair)
• Mary Coles, PhD Researcher, University of Liverpool
• Hannah Messer RVN
• Virginia Garner-Richardson MRCVS
• Aidan Raftery, Ashleigh Veterinary Centre
• Alison Wills, Lecturer Hartpury College
• Allison Hilyer, Kind to Cavies

Topics and Sessions

The day will be split into two main segments:

• Morning
  • Keynote talk on welfare issues in pet and rescue situations
  • Guinea pig reproduction and responsible breeding
  • Research updates
• Afternoon Sessions:
  • Issues in Guinea Pig rescue centres
  • Licensing of rescue centres- the latest proposals and an opportunity to discuss and feed into political discussions