A LABRADOR breeder who registered a litter of four puppies, the result of a mating with a bitch of less than 12 months old, has been warned, censured and fined £500 by the Kennel Club, writes Paul Keevil.

Mr Peter Govett (Cliddstone) of Basingstoke, Hants who appeared before the Kennel Club Disciplinary Sub Committee on Tuesday December 18th admitted the KC Rule A42 complaint against him, saying to the committee that he only registered the litter after a complaint from a buyer.

His dog Cliddstone Sweep ‘caught’ the bitch Gunstock Barley resulting in a litter of four puppies - two dogs and two bitches.

The complaint against Mr Govett was brought by the Kennel Club following contact with one of the buyers, Mrs & Mrs Hubbard, who also live in Basingstoke.

The complaint was dealt with in a morning after a hearing at the Kennel Club at which the KC was represented by Mr Martin Evans. The Disciplinary Sub Committee comprised Mrs Irene Terry (Chairman), Miss Jean Lanning, Mr Eric Smethurst, Mr Stan Ford and Mr Keith A W Young.

The committee having carefully considered the evidence, found that the complaint brought by the Kennel Club under Kennel Club Rule A42 a (1) (b) against Mr P Govett namely that he behaved discreditably or prejudicially to the interests of the canine world in that he submitted to the Kennel Club an Application for Litter Registration (Form 1) which he knew to be incorrect, was upheld. The committee imposed the following penalties:

1. To warn him as to his future conduct [A42 j (1)]

2. To censure him [A42 j (2)]

3. To fine him the sum of £500 [A42 j (3)]

4. To disqualify from registration and/or competition any or all dogs and/or progeny of such dogs which are owned and/or registered by him (whether or not jointly owned and/or whether or not owned and/or registered in the name of a nominee) [A42 j (9)] The disqualification was set for a period of two years from 18 December 2001.

The Committee, following the imposition of these penalties, drew the attention of the Respondent/s to the effect of Rule A42 sub-sections.

“The Kennel Club relies upon the honesty and integrity of breeders when registering their dogs and takes very seriously any deliberate attempt to falsify Kennel Club records,” said the committee.

The committee also took into account that Mr Govett admitted his misdemeanour and also his character testimonials but in keeping with the seriousness with which the sub-committee viewed this offence they imposed the penalties.