Yippee!
It appears the Kennel Club of Britain is about to greenlight LUA Dalmatians into their registry, which means when that happens, the American Kennel Club will be increasingly isolated in its death-grip on racial purity at the expense of canine health and function.
Who speaks for the dogs in America? Not the AKC, that's pretty clear.
Just look at Patti Strand if you have any doubt. Here you will find not only an AKC Board Member, Dalmatian breeder, and dog show judge, but an open apologist for puppy mill registrations, pet-shop sales, and ribbon-chasing within a closed-registry system.
Stand for the health of the dog? Sorry, but at the Dalmatian Club of America and the American Kennel Club that idea seems to take a back seat to blue ribbons and green cash.
I have been hard on the Kennel Club of Britain (for very good reasons), but let me say that they have at least moved forward under the whip.
The shame of the Dalmatian Club of America and the American Kennel Club is now palpable. Leadership? Not a hint of it.
But there is good news: AKC registrations have declined 55 percent over the course of the last 15 years, even as the population of the U.S. has increased by 45 million (17 percent), and the AKC has added 22 new breeds (a 15% increase in dog breeds shown) in an attempt to pad out its sagging membership numbers.
Bottom line: The AKC is a failing institution because the public is no longer buying the failed eugenics theories of the 19th Century.
I count that has a very positive thing in the world of dogs!
- Related Posts
** The Dalmatian Club of America Embraces Purity and Pain
** The Defective Dalmatians at Crufts
** The Kennel Club's Dalmatian Test
** The Eugenics Man and the American Kennel Club
** Who Speaks for the Dogs?
** Will Patrick Bateson Lead the Way Forward?
** High Hopes for Ronnie Irving
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11 comments:
Excellent news!
I mean, if they are allowing naturally bob-tailed boxers into their registry that have a corgi ancestor, why not allow dogs in the registry that were crossbred for health reasons.
It's also good that the Dalmatian isn't as popular as it once was. Very few people can really care for a dog with that need for activity. I knew one that could wear out a working strain golden. He simply would wear her out playing with her.
AT the same time, The AKC was turning down an impassioned plea from American LUA Dal supporters. The motion to deny their petition was sponsored by none other than Patty Strand.
Ron Zimmerman
Is there any release from the Kennel Club about this or is it just on the kennel's blog? I couldn't find anything directly related on the KC's site...
I'll be interested to see how this pans out in the show world over there.
The UKC could really step up as a rational, reality-based and health-focused purebred registry. It would depend on their leadership, of course. It would be a great thing if we could get a strong, organized competitor to the AKC.
Not likely to happen. The UKC is a for-profit venture and its current head, Wayne Cavanaugh, is a former Vice President of the AKC. This registry also has in it dogs that are positively selected for defect -- dogs with no faces who cannot breathe, dogs that are dwarves with bent legs and bad joints, etc.
The folks who are leading are not the clubs, but consumers who are getting educated by the Internet.
Patrick
Is an additional cause to the drop in AKC registrations due to the rise in the 'shelter dog' movement? It certainly seems like adopting a shelter dog is the 'it' thing to do right now as opposed to buying a purebred.
Great news for the Dalmatian as well, hopefully other organizations will soon follow
The main reason for the decline in dogs in shelter is spay-neuter.
The main problem for the AKC is that they were exposed: Their dogs are not healthier, they are not smarter, and most people just want a pet. Why pay $800 for a diseased dog that is not special, when a healthier dog that is a unique product is 2 miles away and (literally) dying for a home?
P.
The main problem for the AKC is that they were exposed,
I am actually doing a presentation along this topic for one of my classes at Iowa State. When I bring it up to people, most are amazed that any of this is out there. I know "Pedigree Dogs Exposed" was huge in the UK and for exposing the Kennel Club, but I think there's a very wide lack of knowledge about the issue in the US among non-dog people (i.e. those who aren't obsessed like us!!), among those I've talked to anyway. Has PDE been broadcasted in the US except on the BBC?
Patrick, I actually e-mailed you a few months ago to ask you some questions- I would love to pick your brain on the subject and use you as a reference. Please let me know if you'd be willing to talk to me about this! :)
Rachel
JaderBug -- I believe only 20% or so of people who get a new pet adopt them from a shelter. The majority of people who get an animal do not adopt, even though adoption gets a lot of advertisement.
Rachel -- shoot me an email with Questions to siriusdogma @ gmail.com (no spaces) and we'll connect.
P
JaderBug - I did one of my English essays on the pedigree dog controversy. It was a compare/contrast essay, and I decided to show people the difference between breeding for form vs function. My teacher used it as an example of the "Why should we care" aspect of selecting a topic, and the collective jaws of the class were on the floor when she was finished going over the main points--apparently, my title "When Beauty Isn't" made her think my paper was just another eating disorder topic, and then she read the intro. We were supposed to use only 2 sources (compare-contrast) for our annotated bibliography; I stopped at 17.
If you look on the AKC website under the Chairman's Report, the one for August 08--the month PDE was shown--is all about how their snooty organization and "sport" is losing money and people...but then, 2 months later, it's all about how "Oh, don't get us wrong, we are ALL for health!"
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