About the Kennel Club
The aim of the Kennel Club is to promote in every way the general improvement of dogs, and the Kennel Club team works hard behind the scenes to achieve this aim and also towards 'making a difference for dogs'.
We are: The UK’s largest organisation dedicated to the health and welfare of dogs.
Our objective: The Kennel Club has the broadest remit to protect and promote the general wellbeing of dogs. At its heart are programmes and investments in education and health initiatives to help dog owners across the UK to have healthy, happy dogs living long lives with responsible owners. The list below shows how we invested our money in 2010 in order to achieve this objective.
· Registrations and Healthcare = £5.1 million (Processing registrations, Petlog and insurance).
· Health, Welfare and Charity = £2.7 million (Including support for the Kennel Club Charitable Trust - making a difference for dogs).
· Education = £1.7 million (Good Citizen Dog Training Scheme, Safe and Sound for children, Young Kennel Club, Crufts and Discover Dogs).
· External Affairs = £1.5 million ( Including lobbying Parliament at Westminster, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the EU on issues of concern to dog owners).
· Canine Activities = £2.1 million (Processing licences, judges and awards for shows and the activity disciplines).
We believe: That together, working with breeders, owners, the government, other dog organisations and the veterinary profession, we can give all dogs the opportunity to lead healthy, happy lives.
History: Originally founded in 1873, the Kennel Club’s sole consideration was to regulate the conduct of dog shows and trials, and then later to register dogs to avoid the duplication of a name in the stud book. Whilst these functions remain, the Kennel Club has developed in ways that could not possibly have been imagined when it was established in Victorian times.
We do: We are a voluntary register for all dogs, whether crossbreed or pedigree, and we run an Assured Breeder Scheme whose members have agreed to follow our high standards for breeding puppies. The Kennel Club runs Crufts, the world’s largest dog show and licenses over 4,500 dog shows and other events each year. It is also at the forefront of the development of many canine health initiatives and invests in education programmes and other campaigns to protect and promote the general wellbeing of dogs.
The Kennel Club is concerned with anti-dog legislation, promotes the positive place of dogs in society and actively represents the interests of responsible dog owners, whether their dogs are Kennel Club registered or not.
The Kennel Club also owns Petlog, the UK’s largest database for microchipped pets. Petlog is on hand 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, for pet owners to contact if their pet goes missing. It is also open to animal wardens, welfare and rescue centres, veterinary practices and local authorities, who can all scan for microchips in pets which come into their care and trace the owners through the Petlog database.
The Kennel Club’s objective is to ‘promote in every way the general improvement of dogs’. This means that we:
· Lobby the government on dog welfare issues including banning electric shock collars and campaigning for amendments to the current dangerous dogs legislation.
· Give grants to dog welfare charities and to scientific research to aid the development of health testing for canine diseases, through the Kennel Club Charitable Trust. For instance CLAD, a disease that caused early death in puppies, has already been eliminated in Irish Setters and Irish Red & White Setters as a result of DNA tests that were developed with Charitable Trust funding.
· Are at the forefront of pioneering research into dog diseases through the Kennel Club Genetics Centre at the Animal Health Trust which has identified the gene responsible for a cause of blindness in Golden Retrievers and Gordon Setters and has created a DNA test to prevent its future spread.
· Work with the British Veterinary Association on eye testing schemes and screening programmes for hip and elbow dysplasia. In the last 20 years some 100,000 hip dysplasia x-rays have been assessed and overall hip scores for the twenty most affected breeds have all improved.
· Run the UK’s largest dog training programme, the Good Citizen Dog Training Scheme, and educational initiatives, such as Safe and Sound for children, to help them to stay safe around dogs.
· License clubs and run competitions for fun dog sports such as agility, which helps to keep both dog and owner healthy.
· Run educational events such as Discover Dogs, which helps people to make responsible dog buying choices.
· Established the Young Kennel Club in 1985, to encourage young people to take an interest in caring, training and activities with dogs.
· Run a Dog Health Group, which includes independent vets and scientific advisors, who work with the Kennel Club to improve breed health.
Others Agree
The Kennel Club is supported in its work by a wide range of organisations. Some of these supporters include:
The Royal Veterinary College, the British Veterinary Association, Pets As Therapy, Canine Partners, the Animal Health Trust and the University of Liverpool.
“Pets As Therapy would like to thank the Kennel Club (Charitable Trust) for the financial support they have awarded to the Charity over the years. This support has brought comfort, companionship and therapy to thousands of members of the general public… Pets As Therapy hope our association with the Kennel Club will continue for many years to come and wish to support the good work the Kennel Club are striving to achieve.” Pets as Therapy
“Breed standards and judging criteria are set by the Kennel Club in conjunction with the breed societies and clubs. These are, quite properly, matters that the Kennel Club have under constant review. However, many other aspects of the work of the Kennel Club that have received less publicity, but have great bearing on the health of pedigree dogs, include their support for research into pedigree dog diseases and their part in introducing screening for common and inherited diseases.” Royal Veterinary College.
“Kennel Club represents the best interest of all dog owners, both show, pedigree or non-pedigree pets. At a time when so many unwarranted restrictions and negative media coverage of dogs abound, Dr Mugford believes that the Kennel Club has been a consistent defender of the positive role of dogs in society.” Dr Roger Mugford, the animal psychologist and Managing Director of the Company of Animals.
The Kennel Club works closely with the veterinary profession and involves many sectors within its decision making process. This includes Past President of the British Veterinary Association, Nick Blayney, and television vet, Marc Abraham who are both Veterinary Advisors to the Kennel Club.
Additionally, the Kennel Club General Committee includes:
· Mr S P Dean BVet.Med MRCVS
· Mrs G F Simpson, BVMS, MRCVS
· Dr R James MRCVS
The Kennel Club Dog Health Group includes a number of scientists/vets:
· Dr Ruth Barbour, BA, MB ChB, FRCGP
· Prof. Mike Herrtage, MA, BVSc, BVR, DVD, DSAM, DECVIM, DECVDI, MRCVS, Dean of Cambridge Veterinary School
· Prof. Sheila Crispin, MA, VetMB, BSc, PhD, DVA, DVOpthal, DipECVO, FRCVS, Past President of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons
· Prof. Jeff Sampson, BSc DPhil, KC Senior Scientific Advisor
· Caroline Kisko BSc, KC Secretary
· Diana Brooks-Ward, BSc, KC Health Co-ordinator
Annual Report
The Kennel Club Annual Report contains information on the many different dog activities and services that the Kennel Club has been involved in throughout the past year.
Kennel Club Child Protection Policy
The Kennel Club has a duly of care to safeguard involved in its licensed activities from harm.
BSI certification
The Kennel Club is delighted to have been officially recognised for its working processes by the British Standards Institution (BSI)
