(Updated 6/5/01)

Crufts to go ahead

Following a meeting of its Finance and General Purposes Committee this week in consultation with the Crufts Committee, The Kennel Club confirms that Crufts 2001 will be going ahead as planned from the 25th-28th May at the NEC, Birmingham.

This decision follows careful monitoring of the Foot and Mouth issue by The Kennel Club and the positive announcement by Government that the situation is being brought under control. These factors, coupled with experts’ continued assurances that dogs and Crufts pose no greater threat than other public gatherings, contribute positively to the decision.

Having postponed the show in March when the Foot and Mouth crisis was at its peak, The Kennel Club believes that its responsibilities now firmly lie with staging Crufts 2001.

Said Vanessa McAlpine, Crufts Show Manager, “While the KC is fully recognisant of the difficulties of the farming community, we are also concerned with the plight of trade stand holders, rescue centres, canine charities and the world of dogs in general - those who are currently feeling the adverse effects of the Foot and Mouth crises and the original postponement of Crufts.”

Mrs McAlpine concluded, “The Kennel Club has found itself in a very difficult position over the last few months. We now believe that the staging of Crufts 2001 is the correct thing to do for the world of dogs, with no attendant damage to agricultural and other interests.”