BBC Radio 4’s programme on Tuesday 7^th September, What is the Point of the Kennel Club, with Quentin Letts, explored the Kennel Club’s purpose and its relevance in today’s society.

The programme recognised that having the broad remit of ‘protecting and promoting the general wellbeing of dogs’ means that the Kennel Club is tasked with a wide range of functions. That is why it is inviting any interested parties to come along to the next tours of the Kennel Club on 22^nd September and 15^th October 2010 to discover more.

Aside from running the world’s greatest dog show, dfs Crufts, the Kennel Club has many other functions which people are invited to hear more about on the Kennel Club tour. This includes running the Kennel Club Charitable Trust, which invests money into health research and dog welfare charities, committing breeders to high levels of care through its Accredited Breeder Scheme as well as influencing the government on dog welfare issues.

The programme explored the important – and sometimes difficult - place that the Kennel Club occupies in guiding and influencing breed clubs in order to create the best outcome for dogs.

Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club Secretary, said: “As the programme recognised, at the Kennel Club’s heart are programmes and investments in education, training and health initiatives which help to ensure that dogs live healthy, happy lives with responsible owners.

“We have achieved many things over the years for the benefit of dogs, from influencing legislation and conducting vital research into dog health all the way through to encouraging people to be responsible dog owners and breeders to breed responsibly.

“Recent years have quite rightly seen a public spotlight shone on health issues surrounding pedigree dogs and the Kennel Club works closely with other organisations and individuals to ensure that these issues are addressed.

“We would like to invite people to come along to the Kennel Club and to talk to us about the exciting initiatives and projects that we are working on that will help to give dogs the healthy, happy lives that they deserve.”

Although not a statutory body, the Kennel Club can achieve its purpose of improving the health and welfare of dogs in a number of ways - through influencing, helping and working with breed clubs, breeders, dog buyers, the government and other organisations.

Breed Clubs - There is much mutual respect and understanding between the Breed Clubs and the Kennel Club to achieve the best outcome for dogs. For example, very many of the German Shepherd Dog Clubs have signed an undertaking to recognise that more needs to be done to address health issues within the breed.  But where Clubs are intransigent the Kennel Club will – and has – used the threat of withdrawing its leading award, Challenge Certificates, until such time as it is satisfied that the appropriate steps are being taken to safeguard the breed’s health.

Government - The Kennel Club seeks to influence the government on numerous dog welfare issues. Most recently the Kennel Club has succeeded in influencing the Welsh Assembly to ban electric shock collars and it has been instrumental in developing Lord Resedale’s Dog Control Bill, which has just had its second reading in the House of Lords.

Breeders – Breeders register their puppies with the Kennel Club voluntarily and there are very many irresponsible breeders outside of the Kennel Club’s fold. But the Kennel Club Accredited Breeder Scheme was established in 2004 to help responsible breeders to join together as one recognisable group for the benefit of puppy buyers. They abide by certain conditions which ensure their dogs are given the best chance of leading healthy, happy lives, such as having the required health tests carried out on their dogs and allowing a Kennel Club inspector access to their premises. The Kennel Club encourages responsible breeders to join the scheme through a range of incentives, such as greater prominence on its online Find a Puppy Service. Dog show judges have been trained to ensure that only healthy dogs win and that is another way that all breeders are encouraged to breed healthy dogs.

Puppy buyers – The Kennel Club uses its annual Discover Dogs event at Earls Court, London to teach people about which breed is right for them and how to buy responsibly. It also provides and licenses services that will help people to properly look after their dogs. This includes the Good Citizen Dog Training Scheme, which is the largest dog training programme in the UK, and agility clubs which help people to ‘Keep Fit With Fido’ and give their dogs the physical and mental exercise that they need. It also uploads the health test results of every Kennel Club registered dog online to help puppy buyers to make responsible decisions.

Other organisations - The Kennel Club works closely with veterinary and charitable organisations. It runs health testing schemes in conjunction with the British Veterinary Association, and created a Canine Genetics Centre with the Animal Health Trust which will investigate 25 inherited diseases over the next five years and develop, where possible, appropriate health screening tests.

For more information about the purpose of the Kennel Club and the steps that it has taken to improve dog health and welfare, click on the links below:

About the Kennel Club

Kennel Club Health Initiatives

ENDS

7^th September 2010

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