"I love being one of the UK's only guinea pig judges - it's like Crufts on steroids"
One of the UK’s only guinea pig judges has told how he enjoys a jet-set lifestyle presiding over pet ‘beauty’ pageants - dubbed "Crufts on steroids".
Jme Eglington has been a national judge for seven years and owns 80 guinea pigs which he lovingly keeps at his home in Coseley, West Mids.
Jme Eglington has been a national judge for seven years and owns 80 guinea pigs which he lovingly keeps at his home in Coseley, West Mids.
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AnimalsTranscript
00:00 [BIRDS CHIRPING]
00:13 My name's Jamie Eglinton-Parks, and I'm a UK and international guinea pig judge.
00:20 [BIRDS CHIRPING]
00:34 I run a show in Dudley, and I judge all over the UK and in Europe.
00:42 I've been as far as Ukraine, Denmark, Norway, Sweden.
00:47 This year alone, I've done Spain, France, and the Netherlands.
00:52 [BIRDS CHIRPING]
01:14 I've currently got approximately 80 guinea pigs, and I do breed,
01:20 but it's a complete non-profit breeding.
01:26 I breed and breed them to try and create the best show pig.
01:31 This one is a pretty good one.
01:35 You can see nice straight lines there.
01:38 We're aiming to get a little bit thicker, but this is what I'm trying to breed.
01:43 Always striving to breed that perfect pig to win at the show.
01:47 [BIRDS CHIRPING]
02:05 [BIRDS CHIRPING]
02:22 I had my first guinea pig when I was nine years old.
02:25 My dad took me to an auction, and there was one going,
02:29 and I got three pounds left on my pocket money.
02:33 He said I could bid up to the three pounds, and he went for three pounds fifty.
02:37 I was devastated, and the lady could see how upset I was next to him
02:45 and said that if I really wanted him that much, I could buy it off her for three pounds,
02:51 which was all the pocket money I had.
02:53 I brought him home, and he was my first guinea pig,
02:55 and he's where the love for them started.
02:58 I named him Ron Weasley because my mum was reading Harry Potter to me at the time.
03:02 I've had a guinea pig nearly always since.
03:07 Then when I was 20, I started going to guinea pig shows,
03:13 and that's where the love for them increased tenfold.
03:18 I soon had about 40 as soon as I started showing
03:24 because there's so many different breeds, things that I liked about the different breeds.
03:28 Within that time, I then started helping out at shows and book stewarding
03:37 and taking the pigs up, taking notes for the judges.
03:40 At some point, I got asked to judge the pets.
03:43 This was the first stage into judging.
03:46 [pig squeaking]