Breed council rejects KC’s new Bulldog Standard
18 Dec 2008 08:02
THE KENNEL Club’s interim Standard for the Bulldog has not gone down well with the breed council involved.
The proposed changes were discussed at a recent council meeting, with the result that 27 delegates from 14 breed clubs, ‘with a combined total breed experience of 823 years’, were ‘unanimously not prepared’ to accept the revisions. They have asked the KC for an explanation.
‘No consultation’
“There was no consultation or liaison with the breed council prior to your letter,” wrote secretary Gwen Biddle-Edwards to the KC.
“We are astonished to receive the proposed revised Standard and wish you to explain the reasoning behind the proposed changes.
“We have been very co-operative with the KC, and since 2002 we have made alterations at our mutual consultation to improve the health and welfare of the breed.
“The KC has approved these changes which have gone on to produce much healthier Bulldogs.
“These changes have also been publicly acknowledged by the KC’s website, publications and seminars.
“We are at a loss to understand in what way the health and general welfare of the breed could be improved by the proposed changes, when the Bulldog is consistently winning in competition against all breeds.”
The council’s chairman, Robin Searle, said: “We received the proposed Standard on December 6, which wasn’t satisfactory because some of us had to stay up all night to study it for a meeting the next day.
“We are being rushed – trampled on. We don’t like the whole thing. We see it as the Standard being changed and the dog will look different compared to how it is today.”