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Domino,
docking and denial
When I came back from Crufts, I went to search out some old
catalogues for comparison and in doing so found an old cutting
from the Bouvier des Flandres breed notes. In it Betty Baxter
was exhorting everyone to rally round and fight any suggestion
that breeders should be prevented from docking. This produced
a real sensation of deja-vu as this was dated 1985. Of course
things have moved on; breeders have been prevented from docking
and now the Protection of Animals Act, if passed as it stands,
will stop docking altogether.
What stuns me most is the lack of knowledge and concerted action
amongst breeders and show goers. The situation verges on apathy.
There are fifty nine docked breeds recognised by the Kennel
Club and some of these have very large numbers of annual registrations
yet the Council for Docked Breeds has less than two thousand
members. Why? This is our most effective way of fighting back.
We have to fight fire with fire and political lobbying is our
most powerful weapon. Politicians worry about losing votes.
The RSPCA and the RCVS have their point of view, they are entitled
to it as we live in a democratic society, but we don’t
have to support them. We are dependent on vets for healthcare
of our dogs but likewise they are dependent on us for revenue.
We could do a bit more investigation and vote with our feet
and boycott surgeries that are actively supporting legislation
which is anti-show dogs. As far as the RSPCA is concerned we
don’t have to support them in any way. We can start by
asking the question ‘Why are they allowed to have a stand
at Crufts?’ when their philosophy is totally against show
dogs. The Kennel Club hasn’t done enough to support breeders
either on the docking issue or on Breed Specific Legislation.
The 1991 Dangerous Dogs Act is recognised as one of the most
ill considered pieces of knee-jerk legislation in existence
yet it is still with us. True it has been modified but it is
still being used against responsible owners as recent cases
reported in ‘Our Dogs’ will testify. It is also legislation
that can be amended to include other breeds at any time.
The situation in Germany gave birth to DARE (Dogs at Risk in
Europe) which has been replaced by Domino. The Kennel Club backed
DARE and is backing Domino but again there is a question of
how much? Why wasn’t the Domino stand at Crufts in, or
at least adjacent to, the ‘Kennel Club Village’? Why
is there no mention of the Domino Campaign in the Crufts catalogue?
And finally why is there no description or explanation with
the entry ‘Domino’ in the list of Trade Stands in
the catalogue?
Talking to people I find a contradiction in their attitudes.
The majority seem to accept that since a large part of Europe
now bans docking, it is inevitable that the UK will follow suit.
But when the situation in Germany is mentioned, the same people
think that it can’t happen here. The German Government
is pressing hard to have the EU follow suit with Breed Specific
Legislation and any large breed is at risk. Although the Bouvier
des Flandres does not have the reputation of the GSD or the
Rottweiler, it shares many of their characteristics as a working
dog and on the continent many are trained in either KNVP or
Schutzhund. History can easily repeat itself with any breed
if attacks are picked up by the media.
Collectively we have a voice and we need to use it.
Judy Cartwright is an exhibitor of Bouvier des Flandres and
an
active opponent of Breed Specific Legislation (BSL)
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