01-10-2008, 12:39 PM
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The Kennel Club's response to Dogs' Trust's withdrawal from KC Events
From Kennel Club Response to Dogs Trust's Withdrawal from Kennel Club Events - The Kennel Club
Kennel Club Response to Dogs Trust's Withdrawal from Kennel Club Events
Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club spokesperson, said: “The Dogs Trust’s decision to withdraw from forthcoming Kennel Club events – which specifically aim to educate the public about the importance of choosing the right dog and going to a responsible breeder - seems to be at odds with their stated position and is extremely regrettable but we will continue to endeavour to work with them despite their stated position, for the benefit of dogs.
"Events such as Discover Dogs and Crufts give the Kennel Club and other organisations a great opportunity to educate the dog loving public about the overriding importance of health and welfare. The Dogs Trust has attended Crufts for a great many years and are fully aware of all the work that is being done to improve the health of dogs in and out of the show ring.
“The Kennel Club invests a great deal of time, money and care into the area of pedigree health. This includes grants, via its Charitable Trust, into developing health screening for dogs as well as grants to dog welfare charities including Dogs Trust. Furthermore, the Kennel Club has just released its ‘Future Plans’ to keep the public updated about its continued progress in this area.
“The Kennel Club is dedicated to improving the health and welfare of dogs through responsible breeding and will continue to use events such as Crufts and Discover Dogs as a platform to educate breeders and the public about the importance of joining us on this quest.”
Specifically, the Kennel Club would like to respond to the following issues:
The importance of putting the health and wellbeing of pedigree dogs above aesthetics.
Breed standards exist as a blueprint for a healthy dog, not as an arbitrary tool to focus on the aesthetics of a breed. These breed standards are continually under review. Furthermore, dog shows are fundamentally designed to reward those dogs that meet a particular breed standard, and the Kennel Club ensures that judges are educated so that dogs displaying visible health problems will not win at dog shows. All judges are educated with a view to ensuring that they put health at the top of the agenda and this is included in all judging handbooks, breed standards and challenge certificates that are handed to the winners.
The importance of genetic screening
The Kennel Club has been at the forefront of encouraging genetic screening of breeding stock, to ensure that faulty genes are not passed on through the generations. Breeders on the Kennel Club’s Accredited Breeder Scheme, have all agreed to follow all of the recommended health checks for their breed and the Kennel Club continues to invest heavily in this area. Anyone thinking of buying a puppy should go to an Accredited Breeder.
The health of pedigree dogs
The Kennel Club ran a health survey looking at pedigree health, the largest of its kind in the world. It has been found that the vast majority of pedigree dogs will not suffer from health problems that will have a detrimental effect on their quality of life, based on an analysis of the Breed Health Survey, carried out by in 2004 by the Kennel Club and the Animal Health Trust. This is to date the largest dog health survey of its kind in the world. Of course, the Kennel Club wants to ensure that ALL dogs have the opportunity to lead healthy lives and will continue to work for this aim, both in and outside of the show ring. For more information about the work that the Kennel Club has done in the area of pedigree health visit Dog genetic health.
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