Bird enthusiasts to wait another year to flock to Gunnedah with popular expo and sale cancelled in 2021

The popular Gunnedah Bird Sale & Expo scheduled for April has been cancelled for the second year in a row, with restrictions put on public gatherings due to COVID-19 making the large-scale event a logistical nightmare for organisers.

The sale is one of the biggest in Australia and normally attracts between 1500 to 2000 people who are looking to sell or buy and even attracts rare and exotic breeds of birds, including quakers and blue and gold macaws.

It's also held indoors, making it harder to socially distance and cater to big numbers.

The 2020 event was also cancelled due to COVID-19, but in 2019 the expo and sale was enjoying record crowds with 175 exhibitors, 26 trade stands and over 4000 birds.

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Greg Brandon from the Namoi Valley Aviculture Club said there has been no bird sales anywhere for a long time, with organisers hanging out to see if the vaccine roll out will make a difference.

"You get bird people from every state come for the Gunnedah expo and with the borders being half closed and half opened, we don't want to put it on and then all of a sudden they close the borders the week before," he said.

"It's trying to enforce the social distancing rules and the number of people you can have in the hall at any one time that's the hardest aspect.

"It would be just too hard too police."

Mr Brandon said it was a shame as it would be a blow to the local motels and hotels who are going to "miss out big time".

"I put our bird sale on so our club members can sell our birds, not to be the police," he added.

The club is hoping to see everyone back in 2022 for their next event which will be held on Saturday, April 2.