Dog community calls for action

A NEW group entitled Showdogs Britain, brainchild of Jason Lynn, has been set up to allow dog breeders and exhibitors access to a central ‘meeting point’, where discussions can take place between like minded people who want to discuss any subject which affects the dog showing hobby.

The move comes following yet another week of Crufts and pedigree dog bashing in the national papers and many people now feel that the time has come to stand up for themselves. the new group will give dog lovers and exhibitors a bigger voice which will, in turn, make more people listen.

In his first post, Jason says: ‘Welcome to Showdogs Britain. Our goal is to provide the show dog community here in the UK and beyond with the latest headlines, news, show results, viewpoints and other information as it becomes available. We hope to become a forum and sounding board for not only the active purebred fancier but for everyone who loves and shares their life with man's best friend. We intend to offer a voice for those involved in the world of purebred dogs, whether as owners, breeders, exhibitors, judges or simply fans of dogs and our rapidly growing hobby. The word ''purebred'' has suddenly become controversial amongst some media outlets. We want to set the record straight about who we are, what we do, and the dogs we devote our lives to.’

The group will also mean that dog enthusiasts are alerted immediately to attacks by the press, and where possible will be given e-mail addresses and telephone numbers to call in order to complain.

Saddened

Jason told us: ‘I am so saddened and frustrated that the vast majority of responsible, dedicated and health-concious breeders of show dogs here in Britain are being dragged onto a pedestal and publicly berated by someone who no one had heard of until last August. I am even more angry that the media is so happy to allow such distorted and unbalanced reporting take place as long as it is pushes all the right dramatic buttons.

‘I hope to start a new campaign in which the faces, stories and views of breeders across the UK will be given a chance to be seen by a larger audience.

‘We as breeders are being villainized and slandered in an attempt for the RSPCA to win the battle of public opinion and become holders of the keys to the house of dog breeding. Is there a financial stake here for the organization if it can successfully persuade the government to give it power to impose licences, restrictions and penalties for those who intend to keep and breed dogs?? I shudder at the thought of that happening. Am I the only one who thinks that animal welfare groups are becoming more concerned with the control of humans than making sure that animals are happy and healthy? How much of your yearly RSPCA donation goes to the dogs of your local chapter, and how much of it is used to pursue frivolous prosecutions against people?

On Monday, OUR DOGS Vince Hogan called for further action. ‘I want to get as many dog people emailing the Times (or any other paper for that matter) with our side...I am fed up of people just printing the narrow, one sided, cleverly edited or written opinions of people who don’t seem to acknowledge the good in the vast majority of dog breeders. Why do the British Press only seem to think that Jemima Harrison's opinion and dubious programme are correct? Up until last August, no one had even heard of Jemima Harrison and now she gives the impression of being the crusader for pedigree dogs. She has every right to her opinion, but it should not count for any more than yours or mine, but will we be asked?

Controversial

‘We all know we live in an age of sound bites: the more controversial the better and these sort of people turn up trumps every time. No one seems to mention the hundreds of thousands of happy dogs and caring owners that have existed happily side by side for years.

‘In every walk of life, there will always be people who bring the rest of their hobby or pursuit into disrepute. Jemima, and those like her, have to accept that we all have a right to enjoy superb events like Crufts, where dogs can be seen having a good time with their caring owners. It’s a place where many will be learning about health issues, training, nutrition, and many aspects of caring dog ownership.

‘We really do need to stand up and be counted!’

Ali Smith, OUR DOGS editor said: ‘Having been involved with the paper for the last 15 years, I would be the first to admit that we have had some appalling about some ‘breeders’. however, what we need to remember is that the sort of people who exhibit dogs are, by and large, the ones who genuinely love and care for their breeds. People need to get things in perspective, and unfortunately that isn’t happening at the moment.

‘The sort of work that jason is doing will enable us all to join forces and let people know once and for all that we will not be bullied and we will carry on showing our much loved, purebred dogs.’
Another equally successful group, which has been running for some time, is the Dog Lovers Against the BBC for Plans to Cancel Crufts Coverage, which now has 2,000 members all over the world.

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HI well done , you should have won the reserve best in show ............................what a fantastic specimen of a poodle he is he is awesome .......and is he proud wowwwwwwww

Tim

Jason, I applaud you!  My name is Gail and I am from a small rural town in Wisconsin, U.S.A.  I am an breeder, exhibitor, handler and trainer of English Mastiffs.  I am a member in good standing of Mastiff Club of America and Vice President of our regional club, Midwest Mastiff Fanciers. I've been involved with Mastiffs for 16 years.   
 
Our parent club has a code of ethics and I follow this in my breeding program.  There should be no AR outside influences, but they are a thorn in our side and we as dog/cat fanciers defend; organize and fight with facts our positions globaly.  We all need to become allies to combat these looney wackos.
 
Again, I commend you for starting this.

Gail