Staffordshire Bull Terriers U.K. K.C. Liaison Officer SBT

S.B.T. Kennel Club Liaison Council Delegate's Report

David Levy 15th March, 2003

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KC Liaison Council

The next meeting is on Thursday 29th May. The date for submitting proposals has passed but the Agenda has not yet been circulated. I have submitted one proposal on behalf of East Anglian SBTC and Southern Counties SBTS. This deals with referees being suitably qualified to adjudicate at shows in the same way as judges.

Dangerous Dogs Legislation

I don't know where to begin! Once again the World seems to have gone quite mad in its reaction to dog attacks. I have (or will) circulated the latest Domino Dogs leaflet published for Crufts. This has an update on several countries but some are particularly significant for Staffords.

. Spain - The breed club has asked to become associate members of this Breed Council and now that they are recognised by and affiliated to the Spanish Kennel Club then I assume they will be accepted at this meeting. Anyone who has visited the KC Liaison Officer web site will know that there has been a request for funds to help in their appeal against the Royal Decree naming Staffordshire Bull Terriers as one of the breeds to be restricted. The amount needed currently is around 3,500 Euros (about Ł2,000) but there are very few Stafford owners in Spain able to contribute. I urge the 18 UK Breed Clubs to consider if we are going to assist them. If so, we should consider whether we will do so by voluntary donations, club subscriptions or special events.

. New Zealand - Possibly the most worrying development of the past 2 months has been the sudden and extreme reaction in New Zealand where Breed Legislation is being rushed through following a couple of serious dog attacks. It is rather like the worst excesses of the UK in 1990/91 or Germany in 1999/2000 all happening in a brief few weeks. One TV "personality" has been urging people to stone anyone walking an unmuzzled dog and the newspapers have little or no interest in reporting facts, merely clamouring for big dogs to be banned. The SBT clubs have responded but are seemingly getting inadequate support from their Kennel Club and there must be a real risk that the Stafford may be caught up in any legislation. If you know people in NZ then please contact them and urge them to act to protect our breed.

. France - Despite nearly two years passing since the French Government confirmed that the SBT was NOT considered a dangerous breed, the French Kennel Club has managed to publish a picture of an obvious Stafford as an "American Staffordshire Terrier" on a poster supposed to help with identification. The Veterinary Association has published an apology for the error but we will have to wait and see what damage has been done.

. Luxembourg - This month's good news is provided by Wolf Bergerhausen who tells me that Luxembourg has decided NOT to implement Breed legislation. We had been campaigning to avoid the "old" French regulations being adopted i.e. including Staffords but in fact the news is even better and BSL will not be introduced at all.

. Germany - A woman came to the Domino Stand at Crufts and commented how sad it is that there are no puppy or junior classes in German shows for Staffords, Bull Terriers, etc. It occurred to me that it might create quite a stir if 20 or so British Stafford owners were to enter their puppies at the World Show in Dortmund this year. It is clearly too dangerous for the dogs and so it must remain one of those "good ideas". Out of interest I did however contact the German Kennel Club to find out about entering the show and was told that I could enter and that there would be no problem either travelling to the show nor any restrictions on my SBT puppy at the Show. I find this very hard to believe but have asked Nick Mays of Our Dogs to investigate further.

Another matter relates to British Servicemen and holiday makers travelling to Germany with their dogs. I was contacted via Jim and Barbara Beaufoy by a family who have been provided with travel documents by DEFRA with absolutely no warning of the possible consequences. They were only alerted to the risk to their Stafford by a further telephone call to the British Embassy in Berlin. There is clearly a serious risk that British Servicemen and tourists may yet get caught out by the new "pet passport" scheme and lose their pet! I urge all clubs to warn their members of the danger through magazines, newsletters and web sites.

Our immediate plan is to encourage supporters to lobby their MP and MEP about once every 9 or 10 months to keep the issue of Breed Specific Legislation and the facts of why it does not work in their minds. It is essential that we do not allow a situation to arise where politicians react to a "newsworthy" UK dog attack with thoughts of breed bans but rather take a more circumspect view of any incident.

Westminster & DLAG

I have been invited to attend those meetings of DLAG (Dog Legislation Advisory Group) that deal with Breed Specific Legislation. You will know that the Metropolitan Police have been releasing those "limbo" dogs that can pass a temperament test and there are also plans to meet with Elliott Morley MP (at his invitation), the Minister responsible for the DDA as well as pet passports and other dog related laws. It is hoped to involve Andrew Rosindell, Roger Gale, Paul Tyler and other supportive MPs in the near future.

KC Liaison Officer

I once again remind delegates that I do not intend to stand for selection as KC Liaison Officer after my current term of office ends in December 2004. I have always maintained that I believe people get "stale" doing the same job for too long and I am quite sure there are many other Stafford owners more than capable of taking on the role.

Staffords.co.uk / K.C.Liaison/ K.C.B.L.O. Reports / KCBLO Report 15.03.03