Hi Mods
I hope it's ok to paste The Kennel Clubs public statement here?
For those who saw the programme I am sure you will agree this really is a very poor prejudiced response.
When the British Veterinary Association disagree with all this "inter breeding" why on earth do these idiots at the KC encourage Crufts attendees, judges etc to develop such highly deformed animals?
Cheers
Alan
Kennel Club hits back at BBC Dog Documentary
20-Aug-08
www.doggenetichealth.org
The Kennel Club feels that the programme, Pedigree Dogs Exposed (BBC1 19 August) missed a real opportunity to progress the cause of dog health. It appeared to have a very specific agenda repeating prejudices, providing no context for the debate, and failing to put forward any constructive proposals. It left viewers with the mistaken impression that all pedigree dogs are riddled with a wide range of health problems and that the dog community is doing little or nothing to improve the situation. This is patently not true.
Whilst the Kennel Club was shocked by the dramatic imagery used in the programme, and accepts some of the important issues raised. What it does not accept is that these problems apply widely across the 200 plus breeds in the UK. Pedigree Dogs Exposed also failed to show the real progress being made by both the Kennel Club and responsible breeders in improving dog health or to recognise that 90 percent of dogs will not suffer from health problems that have a detrimental impact on the quality of life.
More than that, the programme drew upon a new study on dog genetics by Imperial College to underline its criticisms of dog breeding, without acknowledging the fact this study was entirely enabled by the Kennel Club as part of its commitment to health research. This research will now provide the Kennel Club with a valuable scientific platform to enlist the support of breeders in tackling key health problems where they occur.
Commenting, Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club spokesperson, said: "in reality the gap between some of the views expressed on the programme and those held by both the Kennel Club and most responsible breeders is very small. Over the last 20 years we have been working to develop tests and health screening schemes to identify and eradicate problems, many of which are historic. One example of this is the elimination of canine leucocyte adhesion deficiency (CLAD) in Irish Setters, that caused early death in puppies which was eradicated through the concerted efforts of both the Kennel Club and Irish Setter breeders.
"However, it is important to put this into context. The Kennel Club has no legal standing, unlike some similar bodies in other countries. We have to work on these issues through partnership and persuasion - not coercion. The danger of introducing draconian measures is that some breeders could choose to operate outside the Kennel Club's jurisdiction; with absolutely no controls. That cannot be the best way forward.
"The programme also made some sweeping, and far from accurate assertions. The Kennel Club refutes that it would put 'looks' above the health of pedigree dogs, in fact we actively discourage the exaggeration of features in any breed. The standards have been, and will continue to be amended when necessary to ensure the breeding of healthy, well conformed dogs. Dog show judges are also educated to judge to those standards ensuring that dogs with obvious problems that could affect their quality of life do not win, and that the rewards go to fit, healthy dogs. All of this of course is dependent on the responsibility of breeders and owners - and this is where our efforts must be concentrated."
"We can state categorically that the majority of pedigree dogs in the UK are healthy. We increasingly have in place checks to monitor health issues going forward. In those few breeds where there are problems, including those highlighted in the programme, we have been and will continue to work with breeders to improve long term health through the development of tests and screening programmes."
Kennel Club health initiatives include: funding research to identify problems and develop efficient screening for health, such as eye testing and hip scoring; the introduction of the Accredited Breeder Scheme, to act as a 'kite mark' for responsible breeders; and most recently the launch of a major campaign which seeks further to promote health improvements across breeds - 'Fit for function - fit for life'. This, in conjunction with breed clubs, focuses on tackling unnecessary exaggeration in some breeds, whether that is of coat, weight, skin, angulation, eye formation or shortness of muzzle. All dogs should be fit for function, even if that function is to be a pet - all dogs should be able to see, breath and walk freely.
"By their lack of context, programmes such as Pedigree Dogs Exposed, far from helping the situation run the risk of damaging the work already being done. This work will not be carried out by TV production companies - but by the hard work of the Kennel Club and the country's responsible breeders." said Caroline Kisko.
In summary, health issues are of primary concern to the Kennel Club but changes cannot be made overnight. We are working proactively with breeders to make these changes - but we are dealing with the legacy of 100 years. What we need is the support of experts such as those featured in the programme, not their condemnation - support which we have indeed received from a number of respected bodies such as The Animal Health Trust, The Blue Cross and the British Veterinary Association.
Notes:
The Kennel Club's efforts concentrate primarily on heritable diseases because these are the ones that pass from generation to generation and have the potential to impact on a breed's disease burden, generally. Non-heritable conditions affect the individual dog, but have little, if any, impact on the breed moving forward.
The KC has deliberately chosen to work with dog breeders and encourages and educates them on their responsibilities to screen their potential breeding stock with all available health screening programmes for heritable conditions that affect their breed, rather than to mandate that such tests should be undertaken. The KC is also very involved in sponsoring new research that will increase the number of screening programmes for heritable conditions.
The reason that this approach has been adopted is because registration of dogs with the Kennel Club is a voluntary activity, but, at the moment, we actually register the vast majority of the pure bred dogs in the UK. This means that we know how to contact most people that are breeding pure bred dogs and inform them of their responsibilities. We are cautious of becoming overly prescriptive in what we expect so we do not drive people away from the KC registration system. It would be na
I hope it's ok to paste The Kennel Clubs public statement here?
For those who saw the programme I am sure you will agree this really is a very poor prejudiced response.
When the British Veterinary Association disagree with all this "inter breeding" why on earth do these idiots at the KC encourage Crufts attendees, judges etc to develop such highly deformed animals?
Cheers
Alan
Kennel Club hits back at BBC Dog Documentary
20-Aug-08
www.doggenetichealth.org
The Kennel Club feels that the programme, Pedigree Dogs Exposed (BBC1 19 August) missed a real opportunity to progress the cause of dog health. It appeared to have a very specific agenda repeating prejudices, providing no context for the debate, and failing to put forward any constructive proposals. It left viewers with the mistaken impression that all pedigree dogs are riddled with a wide range of health problems and that the dog community is doing little or nothing to improve the situation. This is patently not true.
Whilst the Kennel Club was shocked by the dramatic imagery used in the programme, and accepts some of the important issues raised. What it does not accept is that these problems apply widely across the 200 plus breeds in the UK. Pedigree Dogs Exposed also failed to show the real progress being made by both the Kennel Club and responsible breeders in improving dog health or to recognise that 90 percent of dogs will not suffer from health problems that have a detrimental impact on the quality of life.
More than that, the programme drew upon a new study on dog genetics by Imperial College to underline its criticisms of dog breeding, without acknowledging the fact this study was entirely enabled by the Kennel Club as part of its commitment to health research. This research will now provide the Kennel Club with a valuable scientific platform to enlist the support of breeders in tackling key health problems where they occur.
Commenting, Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club spokesperson, said: "in reality the gap between some of the views expressed on the programme and those held by both the Kennel Club and most responsible breeders is very small. Over the last 20 years we have been working to develop tests and health screening schemes to identify and eradicate problems, many of which are historic. One example of this is the elimination of canine leucocyte adhesion deficiency (CLAD) in Irish Setters, that caused early death in puppies which was eradicated through the concerted efforts of both the Kennel Club and Irish Setter breeders.
"However, it is important to put this into context. The Kennel Club has no legal standing, unlike some similar bodies in other countries. We have to work on these issues through partnership and persuasion - not coercion. The danger of introducing draconian measures is that some breeders could choose to operate outside the Kennel Club's jurisdiction; with absolutely no controls. That cannot be the best way forward.
"The programme also made some sweeping, and far from accurate assertions. The Kennel Club refutes that it would put 'looks' above the health of pedigree dogs, in fact we actively discourage the exaggeration of features in any breed. The standards have been, and will continue to be amended when necessary to ensure the breeding of healthy, well conformed dogs. Dog show judges are also educated to judge to those standards ensuring that dogs with obvious problems that could affect their quality of life do not win, and that the rewards go to fit, healthy dogs. All of this of course is dependent on the responsibility of breeders and owners - and this is where our efforts must be concentrated."
"We can state categorically that the majority of pedigree dogs in the UK are healthy. We increasingly have in place checks to monitor health issues going forward. In those few breeds where there are problems, including those highlighted in the programme, we have been and will continue to work with breeders to improve long term health through the development of tests and screening programmes."
Kennel Club health initiatives include: funding research to identify problems and develop efficient screening for health, such as eye testing and hip scoring; the introduction of the Accredited Breeder Scheme, to act as a 'kite mark' for responsible breeders; and most recently the launch of a major campaign which seeks further to promote health improvements across breeds - 'Fit for function - fit for life'. This, in conjunction with breed clubs, focuses on tackling unnecessary exaggeration in some breeds, whether that is of coat, weight, skin, angulation, eye formation or shortness of muzzle. All dogs should be fit for function, even if that function is to be a pet - all dogs should be able to see, breath and walk freely.
"By their lack of context, programmes such as Pedigree Dogs Exposed, far from helping the situation run the risk of damaging the work already being done. This work will not be carried out by TV production companies - but by the hard work of the Kennel Club and the country's responsible breeders." said Caroline Kisko.
In summary, health issues are of primary concern to the Kennel Club but changes cannot be made overnight. We are working proactively with breeders to make these changes - but we are dealing with the legacy of 100 years. What we need is the support of experts such as those featured in the programme, not their condemnation - support which we have indeed received from a number of respected bodies such as The Animal Health Trust, The Blue Cross and the British Veterinary Association.
Notes:
The Kennel Club's efforts concentrate primarily on heritable diseases because these are the ones that pass from generation to generation and have the potential to impact on a breed's disease burden, generally. Non-heritable conditions affect the individual dog, but have little, if any, impact on the breed moving forward.
The KC has deliberately chosen to work with dog breeders and encourages and educates them on their responsibilities to screen their potential breeding stock with all available health screening programmes for heritable conditions that affect their breed, rather than to mandate that such tests should be undertaken. The KC is also very involved in sponsoring new research that will increase the number of screening programmes for heritable conditions.
The reason that this approach has been adopted is because registration of dogs with the Kennel Club is a voluntary activity, but, at the moment, we actually register the vast majority of the pure bred dogs in the UK. This means that we know how to contact most people that are breeding pure bred dogs and inform them of their responsibilities. We are cautious of becoming overly prescriptive in what we expect so we do not drive people away from the KC registration system. It would be na
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