EFRA committee

CDB Secretary and Treasurer, Ginette Elliott and Lynne Smith, were invited last month to Westminster to give evidence to the House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee which is investigating the Draft Animal Welfare Bill.

The CDB team rebutted allegations made by opponents of docking that the procedure is cruel and painful, and stressed the importance of docking in maintaining the future welfare of docked breeds. The CDB’s appearance before the EFRA Committee gave a further chance to reinforce the deeply held opinion of thousands involved in the breeding and showing of pedigree dogs that a ban on tail docking is unnecessary and unjustified.

The Committee will be reporting back to Parliament and its findings will help to shape the Bill prior to its introduction into the House of Commons, possibly later this autumn.

Midland Game Fair

On 18th and 19th September, the CDB was delighted to welcome members both old and new at the Midland Game Fair, Weston Park, Shropshire. There was lots of interest in the CDB’s stand from working gundog enthusiasts and particularly from the working terrier fraternity, for whom the ‘Midand’ is aways such an important event in the show calendar. Graham Downing and Jackie McHale from the CDB answered many queries about the Draft Animal Welfare Bill and about docking in general, and they signed up several new members during the show’s two days. After 21 years, the Midland Game Fair has become one of the largest events of its kind, and we would like to express our thanks to BASC Midland’s Regional Director Carl Cox for allowing us once again to run the CDB stand within the BASC enclosure.

Annual General Meeting

All members and supporters are welcome at the Council of Docked Breeds Annual General Meeting, which will be held at the Kettering Park Hotel, Kettering, Northamptonshire, on Sunday 21st November, starting at 2pm. Coming at a particularly crucial time for the pro-docking campaign, the meeting will provide the opportunity for members to question CDB officers about the progress of the Draft Animal Welfare Bill and its potential impact upon our traditional docked breeds. Kettering Park Hotel is immediately adjacent to the junction of the A14 and A509.