For more than two years now the Kennel Club and others have been co-operating with a TV production company called Passionate Productions who have been making a film on the subject of canine health. We agreed to take part entirely on the basis of that company’s written assurance that the programme’s ultimate message was “intended to be a hopeful one, showing how science and breeders can combine to preserve our purebreds for the future.” That message fits precisely with the view of the Kennel Club, and so we set about giving information and interviews to the production company, and encouraging others to do so as well.

Sadly we soon discovered that the members of the production company seemed to have pre-conceived and extremely biased views on the subject. Alarm bells rang when we found out the biased nature of many of the questions being posed both to ourselves and to others. The vast majority covered negative issues – few if any were about the positive aspects of purebred dogs. We were even more alarmed when other interviewees, more experienced than we are, said that they too were very worried by the line of questioning - to the extent that some of them had eventually refused to go further with some of the interviews.

We now know that the BBC, which has bought the programme, will show it sometime soon. From the beginning the Kennel Club has worked consistently to explain our point of view on canine health both to the production company and latterly to the BBC, describing the vast amount of time, effort and money the majority of breeders put into breeding healthy dogs. We have also ensured that other interested parties have made the same point to the BBC. In so doing we have of course acknowledged that there are problems in some breeds, many of which originally stem back to the Victorian era, but we have stressed that we are today in the forefront of using science to address these issues.

We have also explained the work done to eliminate from breed standards any exaggerations which might cause problems. We have described the work going on to ensure that show judges pay particular attention to issues which could be detrimental to the health or welfare of dogs. We have outlined the many DNA and other health screening programmes which exist, and have given details of the Accredited Breeders Scheme and our latest “Fit for function: fit for life” campaign.

Finally, we have been at pains to remind the BBC of the requirements in its Charter to be rigorously impartial and balanced in its reporting.
Despite all of this we still fear that, when broadcast, this programme may omit much of the positive information supplied, with the result that it will be damaging to the reputation of pedigree dogs, dog breeders and the Kennel Club. We hope that, in the process, it will not end up damaging the very dogs which, throughout, the programme makers have claimed they are so anxious to help.

This is of course looking at the worst case outcome. It may be that our efforts have been understood and borne in mind as the programme has been put together and that we have done enough to balance the content and tone. Whatever the eventual result you can be assured that the Kennel Club will go on working for the benefit of pedigree dogs and that we will continue to communicate the many positive messages which are there to be told.

Ronnie Irving
Chairman
August 8, 2008.

I wonder what has got the KC so rattled that they feel the need to issue a statement before the programme has aired.

Im gonna watch it whatever but i am curious about why they would issue a statement before its even aired that in itself makes me curious