Kennel Club To Refuse Registrations for Merle Staffordshire Bull Terriers

The Kennel Club has issued a statement explaining that it will no longer accept registrations for Merle Staffordshire Bull Terriers. The club’s statement reads:

At the request of the Staffordshire Bull Terrier Breed Council, the Kennel Club has agreed that it will no longer accept the registration of any merle coloured Staffordshire Bull Terrier puppies, with effect from 5th January 2010.

Coat colour in the Staffordshire Bull Terrier is complex because a range of colours is acceptable. Merle patterning, patches of lighter colour appearing in the coat, is the result of the M gene in the dog.

There are two alleles of this gene: MM (merle) and M+ (non-merle), with merle (MM) being dominant to non-merle (M+). In some breeds, the effect of the merle allele (MM) is termed ‘dapple’.

Unfortunately, the effects of the merle allele (MM) are not confined to coat patterning and we know that there can be an increased risk of impaired hearing and sight associated with it, particularly in dogs that are homozygous for MM (dogs that carry two copies of the MM allele).

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Tags:  kennel club, pedigree dog health, staffordshire bull terrier