The Kennel Club has today released the minutes of the meeting held on 25th Nov last year between itself a number of breed club representatives. Amongst the items for discussion was the controversial Metropolitan Police so-called ’status dog unit’, a initiative which has drawn fire from a number of anti breed specific legislation campaigners. Details of the meeting can be read below:The Council noted the results of the recommendations from the previous meeting as follows;

Paragraph 22 – Instructions to Veterinary Surgeons.

Mr Lambert explained that the Kennel Club was working on a ‘Veterinary Manual’ which would contain significant information for vets, including details of recommended health tests on a breed by breed basis, guidance on what the Kennel Club offers and information stressing the Kennel Club’s primary objective of addressing canine health issues. It was confirmed that the manual could be available as soon as January 2010.

The Council queried whether or not it would be possible for the information the Kennel Club was collating to be sent out to universities for use by trainee vets, to educate them on the practices of breeders. The office explained that at present, the Kennel Club welcomes 500 trainee vets to Crufts every year and they are given comprehensive information on dog breeding and the role of dog breeders.

Paragraph 31 – ABS Accolade relating to Stud Book achievements.

The office explained that the Accolade was designed to demonstrate that the breeder had an understanding and acceptance of what defining characteristics are desirable in the breed and have demonstrated that they are breeding dogs that conform to Kennel Club Breed Standards. The office confirmed that the Kennel Club recognised the appeal of making the Stud Book Accolade breed specific. However it was explained that, at present, there were more pressing IT related issues that must take precedence, but that this would be looked at again in the future. The Council would receive updates as the initiative progressed.

Paragraph 53 – Breed Specific Parameters.

The office confirmed that the Kennel Club was working with a number of breed clubs/societies to set up breed specific requirements and recommendations for Accredited Breeders.

At a previous Breed Council meeting it was requested that the Kennel Club introduce a recommendation that bitches in some breeds, particularly giant breeds, should not be allowed to produce a litter when under the 2 years of age. As a result of this recommendation 74 breed clubs were written to asking for their opinion on this matter.

Disappointingly only 28 responses were received and, furthermore, agreements could only be reached with just 7 of the clubs concerned. The Kennel Club has, however, been able to implement some new recommendations on a minimum breeding age.

The Kennel Club is working with breed clubs that support responsible breeding practices, as outlined in the ABS, and it is currently asking them to endorse the following clause in their own Code of Practice; ‘Members will, when breeding dogs, adopt as a minimum standard the principles, requirements and recommendations as embodied in the Kennel Club’s Accredited Breeder Scheme. It is also recommended that members who breed should apply to join the Scheme.’

ITEM 5. MATTERS ARISING.

Matters arising were addressed as above.

ITEM 6. PROPOSALS FROM SOCIETIES.

Shetland Sheepdog Breed Council proposed:

“To encourage breeders to test their stock for hereditary diseases and make such test results available to all interested parties, the results of all professionally recognised tests should be recorded on registration documents, the Kennel Gazette Breed Records Supplement and on the Kennel Club’s online enquiry service”.

The office explained that the Health & Breeder Services Team often received requests for the inclusion of new DNA and other health related issues, on the Kennel Club database.

It was confirmed that the Kennel Club would consider approving any new DNA tests, provided that the test offered was from a recognised testing laboratory such as the Animal Health Trust or Optigen, and the request is supported by a majority of the Breed Clubs or the Breed Council. Once agreed, the Kennel Club will arrange with the laboratory for copies of all future test certificates issued to be sent directly to the Kennel Club, where the test result would be added to the dog’s details on the registration database. This would trigger the publication of the test result in the next available Breed Records Supplement, and the result would also appear on any new registration certificate issued for the dog and on the registration certificates of any future progeny of the dog.

The office confirmed that it was currently working with the Shetland Sheepdog Breed Council on this matter.

ITEM 7. DISCUSSION ITEMS.

South Western Rottweiler Association requested that the Council discuss:

“The SWRA would like to bring to the KCLC’s attention the difficulties sellers of puppies have when homing/re-homing, in that potential puppy owners will never tell you that they have been prosecuted and/or banned from owning dogs or any other pet by the RSPCA for abuse or neglect. If a seller has any suspicion, there does not appear to be a central list kept either by the RSPCA or the local Dog Wardens or anyone else that can be located, or if there is, it is not accessible to the public (i.e. those homing puppies). The local Magistrates Court only considers releasing this information on the production of a signed agreement to this effect by the person you are checking plus the requisite of £10. The process will take approx 8 weeks and the Judge can still decide that it is not in the public interest to grant the information. You would also have to know which Country Court to check with. We would like to know any thoughts the Council have on this matter”.

The Council discussed the possibility of the Kennel Club entering into discussions with the appropriate authority in order to obtain a central list of names of people who had been prosecuted and/or banned from owning dogs due abuse or neglect. It queried whether or not the possibility of such a list being held by an outside body was viable due to data protection, but went on to note that cruelty cases were held in Open Court, so this information could possibly be made available in order to compile a central list.

The Council went on to discuss Status Dog Units (SDU) which had been set up by the Metropolitan Police, to specifically tackle the issue of dogs being used by owners to better their ‘street’ status. The Council expressed its concern as this appeared to be an extension of the Dangerous Dogs Act (DDA) and could lead to many innocent dogs being seized and destroyed.

It was noted that the SDU is obliged to assess those dogs which appear to be dangerously out of control in a public place. Should the officer or dog warden make an assessment that the dog is banned under the DDA, then they can seize the dog. However they do not have the authority to have a dog destroyed. Only a court decision can determine the future of a dog.

ITEM 8. ANY OTHER BUSINESS.

Flatcoated Retriever Club of Scotland requested that the Council discuss:

“The Flatcoated Retriever Club of Scotland would like to bring to the attention of the Kennel Club Breeds Liaison Council the need for Championship Show committees to show more consideration for exhibitors and their dogs. In particular, there is a need for increased bench sizes for larger breeds and consideration of the position where a breed is benched in relation to its ring. Consideration also needs to be given to the number of crates allowed ringside, particularly as invariably they do not belong to the exhibitors of the breed in the ring. The Flatcoated Retriever Club of Scotland would like the Kennel Club to encourage Show committees to think carefully about the welfare of all dogs during the planning and running of their shows.”

The Council noted that the Kennel Club’s Benching Working Party is due to reconvene in 2010 and the matter of increased benching sizes would be discussed once the remit had been agreed. The Council did note that at many General Championship Shows, benching was often an issue but accepted that with the many factors which had to be taken into consideration by show societies when scheduling such large events, it was not always possible to cater for specific benching requests.

The Council also discussed the matter of crates at the ringside. The Council agreed that if gangways were blocked by exhibitors leaving crates and trolleys at the ringside, then the show secretary should be informed of this immediately. It is only by reporting matters such as this in the correct way, that they are able to be resolved.

Critiques.
The office confirmed the procedure for investigating outstanding critiques for shows. It also confirmed that over 172 judges had been written to in the previous 12 months requesting copies of critiques.

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