The Kennel Club ("KC") is the official
kennel club of the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
. It is the oldest recognised kennel club in the world. Its role is to oversee various canine activities including
dog show
A dog show is an event where dogs are exhibited. A conformation show, also referred to as a ''breed show'', is a kind of dog show in which a judge, familiar with a specific dog breed, evaluates individual purebred dogs for how well the dogs ''c ...
s,
dog agility
Dog agility is a dog sport in which a handler directs a dog through an obstacle course in a race for both time and accuracy. Dogs run off leash with no food or toys as incentives, and the handler can touch neither dog nor obstacles. The handler ...
and working trials. It also operates the national register of
pedigree dog
A dog breed is a particular strain of dog that was purposefully bred by humans to perform specific tasks, such as herding, hunting, and guarding. Dogs are the most variable mammal on Earth, with artificial selection producing around 450 globally ...
s in the United Kingdom and acts as a
lobby group
In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...
on issues involving dogs in the UK. Its headquarters are on
Clarges Street
Clarges Street is a street in the City of Westminster, London. The street runs from Clarges Mews in the north to Piccadilly in the south. It is crossed by Curzon Street.
History
Clarges Street was built in the early 18th century and is proba ...
in
Mayfair
Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world. ...
,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, with business offices in
Aylesbury
Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, South East England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery, David Tugwell`s house on Watermead and the Waterside Theatre. It is in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wy ...
.
The Kennel Club registration system divides dogs into seven
breed groups. The Kennel Club Groups are:
Hound
A hound is a type of hunting dog used by hunters to track or chase prey.
Description
Hounds can be contrasted with gun dogs that assist hunters by identifying prey and/or recovering shot quarry. The hound breeds were the first hunting dogs. T ...
group,
Working
Working may refer to:
* Work (human activity), intentional activity people perform to support themselves, others, or the community
Arts and media
* Working (musical), ''Working'' (musical), a 1978 musical
* Working (TV series), ''Working'' (TV s ...
group,
Terrier
Terrier (from Latin ''terra'', 'earth') is a type of dog originally bred to hunt vermin. A terrier is a dog of any one of many breeds or landraces of the terrier type, which are typically small, wiry, game, and fearless. Terrier breeds vary ...
group,
Gundog
Gun dogs, or bird dogs, are types of hunting dogs developed to assist hunters in finding and retrieving game, usually quail, dove, or duck. Gun dogs are divided into three primary types: retrievers, flushing dogs, and pointing breeds.
Types
...
group, Pastoral group,
Utility
As a topic of economics, utility is used to model worth or value. Its usage has evolved significantly over time. The term was introduced initially as a measure of pleasure or happiness as part of the theory of utilitarianism by moral philosopher ...
group and
Toy
A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and pet ...
group. As of 2021, The Kennel Club recognised 222 breeds of dog.
The Kennel Club licenses dog shows throughout the UK, but the only
dog show
A dog show is an event where dogs are exhibited. A conformation show, also referred to as a ''breed show'', is a kind of dog show in which a judge, familiar with a specific dog breed, evaluates individual purebred dogs for how well the dogs ''c ...
it actually runs is
Crufts
Crufts is an international dog show held annually in the United Kingdom, first held in 1891. Organised and hosted by The Kennel Club, it is the largest show of its kind in the world.
Crufts is centred on a championship conformation show for do ...
. The show has been held since 1928 and attracts competitors from all over the world. It is held every March at the
NEC
is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. The company was known as the Nippon Electric Company, Limited, before rebranding in 1983 as NEC. It prov ...
, Birmingham, and includes the less formal
Scruffts
Scruffts is an informal national dog show competition, where crossbreed dogs of any parentage are allowed to compete. Launched in 2000, it is hosted by The Kennel Club of the United Kingdom and is named after Crufts, its world-famous annual show f ...
show for
crossbreed
A crossbreed is an organism with purebred parents of two different breeds, varieties, or populations. ''Crossbreeding'', sometimes called "designer crossbreeding", is the process of breeding such an organism, While crossbreeding is used to main ...
and
mixed-breed dogs. The Kennel Club also holds the Discover Dogs event in London every autumn.
The Kennel Club is a non-member partner with the
Fédération Cynologique Internationale
The Fédération cynologique internationale (FCI) (English: International Canine Federation) is the largest international federation of national kennel clubs. It is based in Thuin, Belgium.
History
The FCI was founded in 1911 under the auspices ...
.
History
![Sewallis Shirley](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/Sewallis_Shirley.jpg)
The Kennel Club was founded on 4 April 1873 after
Sewallis E. Shirley became frustrated by trying to organise dog shows without a consistent set of rules. Since the first dog show in 1859, shows had become increasingly popular. Shirley is listed as an exhibitor of
Fox Terrier
Fox Terriers are two different breeds of the terrier dog type: the Smooth Fox Terrier and the Wire Fox Terrier. Both of these breeds originated in the 19th century from a handful of dogs who are descended from earlier varieties of British terr ...
s at the Birmingham Dog Show Society show in 1865. Together with a group of other gentlemen, he organised the First Grand Exhibition of Sporting and Other Dogs held at
Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace may refer to:
Places Canada
* Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick
* Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario
* Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building
* ...
in June 1870. The show was not a financial success and the organisers had to make up the loss.
[ Oliver (1998): pp. 27, 28]
This seems to have been the trigger for Shirley to call a meeting with 12 others who had an interest in judging and exhibiting pedigree dogs. The meeting, in 1873, agreed to set up the Kennel Club. It was held at 2 Albert Mansions, Victoria Street, London, a small flat with only three rooms. All business was conducted from there until a move to
Pall Mall in May 1877.
[ Sutton (1980): p.3]
It was decided they would be responsible for publishing a
Stud Book
A breed registry, also known as a herdbook, studbook or register, in animal husbandry and the hobby of animal fancy, is an official list of animals within a specific breed whose parents are known. Animals are usually registered by their breeders ...
and the first volume was published and ready to be distributed in December 1874. It listed
pedigree
Pedigree may refer to:
Breeding
* Pedigree chart, a document to record ancestry, used by genealogists in study of human family lines, and in selective breeding of other animals
** Pedigree, a human genealogy (ancestry chart)
** Pedigree (animal ...
s of dogs competing at shows from 1859 and also included a "Code of Rules for the guidance of Dog Shows and Field trials"
[ Oliver (1998): p. 28]
Shirley was appointed as chairman at the first annual general meeting of the Kennel Club on 1 December 1874.
The Kennel Club saw particular change under the chairmanship of John MacDougall during the period 1981 to 1996. Among the changes he helped introduce were the revamping of the Club's constitution, the development of the Junior Organisation to encourage youth participation in the sport of dog showing, and the creation of the library and the charitable trust. It was also under his stewardship that the registration system became computerised.
Crufts
![Charlescruft](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/Charlescruft.jpg)
The first successful annual all-breed dog show was produced by
Charles Cruft in 1891. He produced the
Crufts
Crufts is an international dog show held annually in the United Kingdom, first held in 1891. Organised and hosted by The Kennel Club, it is the largest show of its kind in the world.
Crufts is centred on a championship conformation show for do ...
dog show
A dog show is an event where dogs are exhibited. A conformation show, also referred to as a ''breed show'', is a kind of dog show in which a judge, familiar with a specific dog breed, evaluates individual purebred dogs for how well the dogs ''c ...
for 45 years until his death in 1938. His widow, Emma, continued for four shows. She then sold it to the Kennel Club, as she felt unable to devote the time to running such a large undertaking and she wanted to perpetuate her husband's legacy. No shows were held during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. The first Crufts show held by the Kennel Club was in 1948 at
Olympia, London
Olympia London, sometimes referred to as the Olympia Exhibition Centre, is an exhibition centre, event space and conference centre in West Kensington, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, London, England. A range of international ...
. The show was first televised by the BBC in 1950. The 1954 edition was cancelled due to the strike of electricians.
The show moved to
Earls Court
Earl's Court is a district of Kensington in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in West London, bordering the rail tracks of the West London line and District line that separate it from the ancient borough of Fulham to the west, the ...
in 1979, where it remained until staging its centenary show in 1991 at the
National Exhibition Centre
The National Exhibition Centre (NEC) is an exhibition centre located in Marston Green, Solihull, West Midlands, England. It is near junction 6 of the M42 motorway, and is adjacent to Birmingham Airport and Birmingham International railway stati ...
in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
, where it still takes place. From originally being a show for the exhibition of
purebred
Purebreds are "cultivated varieties" of an animal species achieved through the process of selective breeding. When the lineage of a purebred animal is recorded, that animal is said to be "pedigreed". Purebreds breed true-to-type which means the p ...
dogs, it has expanded over the years and now incorporates most other canine disciplines such as
Obedience,
Agility
Agility or nimbleness is an ability to change the body's list of human positions, position quickly and requires the integration of isolated movement skills using a combination of balance (ability), balance, coordination (physiology), coordination ...
, and
Flyball
Flyball is a dog sport in which teams of dogs race against each other from the start to the finish line, over a line of hurdles, to a box that releases a tennis ball to be caught when the dog presses the spring-loaded pad, then back to their ha ...
.
Discover Dogs
![Simon king Discover Dogs 2021 London medical detection dogs](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/Simon_king_Discover_Dogs_2021_London_medical_detection_dogs.jpg)
Initially the Discover Dogs event was staged as a part of Crufts dog show, but as its popularity increased it became a stand-alone event. Established in 1996, it gives the public an opportunity to meet representatives of all pedigree dog breeds and talk with breed experts about the suitability of the breed as a pet.
Until 2014, this two-day annual event was held at
Earls Court Exhibition Centre
Earls Court Exhibition Centre was a major international exhibition and events venue just west of central London. At its peak it is said to have generated a £2 billion turnover for the economy. It replaced exhibition and entertainment grounds, ...
in London in November. Since 2015, it has been held in October at the
ExCeL
ExCeL London (an abbreviation for Exhibition Centre London) is an exhibition centre, international convention centre and former hospital in the Custom House area of Newham, East London. It is situated on a site on the northern quay of the ...
Centre in East London.
The event includes the semi-finals for the Kennel Gazette Junior Warrant competition, a competition for pedigree dogs aged between six and 18 months, and the National Junior Handling UK final, as well as
agility
Agility or nimbleness is an ability to change the body's list of human positions, position quickly and requires the integration of isolated movement skills using a combination of balance (ability), balance, coordination (physiology), coordination ...
competitions and displays by
police
The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...
and other dog teams. There are also a large number of trade stalls. It is popular, with the 2012 event drawing a crowd of over 30,000.
From 2000 to 2012, Discover Dogs also hosted the finals of the
Scruffts
Scruffts is an informal national dog show competition, where crossbreed dogs of any parentage are allowed to compete. Launched in 2000, it is hosted by The Kennel Club of the United Kingdom and is named after Crufts, its world-famous annual show f ...
Family Crossbreed of the Year competition for
mixed-breed dog
A mongrel, mutt or mixed-breed dog is a dog that does not belong to one officially recognized breed and including those that are the result of intentional breeding. Although the term ''mixed-breed dog'' is sometimes preferred, many mongrel ...
s. Since 2013, this has been held in conjunction with the main Crufts show.
Kennel Club Charitable Trust
The Kennel Club Charitable Trust is a dog
charity
Charity may refer to:
Giving
* Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons
* Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing
* Ch ...
that looks after the welfare and health of dogs. They fund a wide variety of work, including supporting research into canine diseases, dog
welfare
Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...
organisations and the promotion of
service dog
In general, an assistance dog, known as a service dog in the United States, is a dog trained to aid or assist an individual with a disability. Many are trained by an assistance dog organization, or by their handler, often with the help of a profe ...
s. Set up in 1987, it was first registered with the
Charity Commission
, type = Non-ministerial government department
, seal =
, seal_caption =
, logo = Charity Commission for England and Wales logo.svg
, logo_caption =
, formed =
, preceding1 =
, ...
in May 1988.
The Duchess of Cornwall became the first patron of the Trust in October 2007 when it celebrated its twentieth anniversary.
The Kennel Club makes many donations to charitable causes, with grants totalling over £10 million between the club's foundation and 2020. The
Animal Health Trust
The Animal Health Trust (AHT) was a large national independent charity in the United Kingdom, employing over 200 scientists, vets and support workers. Its objectives were to study and to cure diseases in companion animals (horses, dogs and cats ...
(AHT) has frequently received donations from the Kennel Club and, in 2012, a £1.5 million interest free loan was granted to the AHT to enable it to complete the building and equipping of a new animal
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
treatment and research centre at its base in
Suffolk
Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...
. The AHT also regularly receives funding to enable work to continue at the Genetics Centre run in conjunction with the Kennel Club. The sum of £250,000 was donated to the Genetics Centre in 2010. During 2010, the Kennel Club Charitable Trust had provided almost £800,000 to help non-pedigree as well as pedigree organisations.
The Kennel Club Charitable Trust also funded a new building at the
National Agricultural Centre, Stoneleigh Park,
Kenilworth
Kenilworth ( ) is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Warwick (district), Warwick District in Warwickshire, England, south-west of Coventry, north of Warwick and north-west of London. It lies on Finham Brook, a ...
, which was opened by
Prince Michael of Kent
Prince Michael of Kent, (Michael George Charles Franklin; born 4 July 1942) is a member of the British royal family, who is 51st in the line of succession to the British throne as of September 2022. Queen Elizabeth II and Michael were first ...
in February 2009. The facilities are used for various canine related competitions, training, seminars and charity events.
Kennel Club Dog Art Gallery
![Ansdell The Poacher At Bay 1865](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Ansdell_The_Poacher_At_Bay_1865.png)
The Kennel Club Dog Art Gallery is located at the club's headquarters in Mayfair, London. The gallery is devoted to fine art about dogs and features themed exhibitions, as well as a permanent collection. Artists in the collection include
Maud Earl
Maud Alice Earl (1863-1943) was a British-American artist, known for her canine paintings. Her works are much enjoyed by dog enthusiasts and also accurately record many breeds.
Biography
Alice Maud Earl was born in Marylebone, London, to Georg ...
,
George Earl,
Richard Ansdell
Richard Ansdell (11 May 1815 – 20 April 1885) was a British painter of animals and genre scenes.
Life
Ansdell was born in Liverpool (then in Lancashire), the son of Thomas Griffiths Ansdell, a freeman who worked at the port, and Anne Jacks ...
,
Arthur Wardle
Arthur Wardle (1864–1949) was a British painter.
Born in London, aged just sixteen Wardle had a piece displayed at the Royal Academy. His first exhibit was a study of cattle by the River Thames, leading to a lifelong interest in painting ...
and
Cecil Aldin
Cecil Charles Windsor Aldin (28 April 1870 – 6 January 1935), was a British artist and illustrator best known for his paintings and sketches of animals, sports, and rural life. Aldin executed village scenes and rural buildings in chalk, pencil ...
. The gallery is open only by appointment.
The art gallery opened in 2003 and was the idea of former Kennel Club Chairman John McDougall. The Kennel Club had accumulated quite a large collection of canine artwork, including 130 oil paintings,100 works on paper, nearly 100 engravings and prints, and the same number of sculptures and trophies. The collection is still being added to. Various exhibitions are held covering a variety of breeds, such as
English Setter
The English Setter is a medium-size breed of dog. It is part of the setter group, which includes the red Irish Setters, Irish Red and White Setters, and black-and-tan Gordon Setters. The mainly white body coat is of medium length with long si ...
s,
Gordon Setter
The Gordon Setter is a large breed of dog, a member of the setter family that also includes both the better-known Irish Setter and the English Setter. Setter breeds are classified as members of either the Sporting or Gundog Group depending on ...
s, and
Irish Setter
The Irish Setter ( ga, sotar rua, literally "red setter") is a setter, a breed of gundog, and family dog. The term ''Irish Setter'' is commonly used to encompass the show-bred dog recognised by the American Kennel Club as well as the field-bred ...
s. To gain more awareness of the collection available at the art gallery, it sometimes stages exhibitions at art and design fairs. Former Kennel Club chairman Ronnie Irving is quoted as saying "The great thing about the Kennel Club Art Gallery is that it's a way of encouraging those people interested in dogs to learn a bit more about art and those people interested in art to do likewise about dogs."
Assured Breeder scheme
The Accredited Breeder Scheme was launched in 2004 but was later renamed as the Assured Breeder scheme (ABS). As the ABS membership grew, a number of regional advisors were recruited to inspect breeders' premises and paperwork to ensure adequate standards were being met. Breed specific recommendations were added to some breeds for the first time in January 2010 after consultations with breed clubs.
The scheme was meant to help potential dog owners identify responsible breeders, but has been described by the
Dogs Trust
Dogs Trust, known until 2003 as the National Canine Defence League, is a British animal welfare charity and humane society which specialises in the well-being of dogs. It is the largest dog welfare charity in the United Kingdom, caring for ove ...
as "full of pitfalls, the main one being that it's self-certificating". The Associate Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare report indicated that the low breeding standards practiced by some in the ABS may allow the public to be "falsely led into thinking a puppy they buy from an accredited breeder registered with the KC will have no health or welfare problems associated with its breeding history." It called for more random checks and robust enforcement of the scheme and states that "the use of the word ‘pedigree’ should be tied to a high standard of breeding (for health and welfare) across the board with the KC not just with the few that decide to join the Accredited Breeder Scheme (ABS)."
The report warned that if the health measures implemented by the Kennel Club fails, government regulations might be necessary. The Kennel Club issued a response to the report. ''
Pedigree Dogs Exposed
''Pedigree Dogs Exposed'' is a BBC One investigative documentary, produced by Jemima Harrison, which looks into health and welfare issues facing pedigree dogs in the United Kingdom. It was originally broadcast on 19 August 2008.
The Kennel Club ...
'' producer Jemima Harrison condemned the Kennel Club's response, stating that they are downplaying the criticism of the Kennel Club in the report and misrepresenting the findings.
In April 2013, it was announced that the ABS scheme had secured recognition by the
United Kingdom Accreditation Service
The United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) is the sole national accreditation body recognised by the British government to assess the competence of organisations that provide certification, testing, inspection and calibration services. It e ...
(UKAS). Various changes were made to the scheme to gain accreditation, which included ensuring inspections were made of all new members' premises and that those who were already members would be checked within a three-year time period. In January 2010, Prof. Sir
Patrick Bateson
Sir Paul Patrick Gordon Bateson, (31 March 1938 – 1 August 2017) was an English biologist with interests in ethology and phenotypic plasticity. Bateson was a professor at the University of Cambridge and served as president of the Zoologic ...
had advocated seeking UKAS accreditation in his Independent Inquiry into Dog Breeding.
Other programmes
In February 2013, the Kennel Club launched a programme called "Get Fit With Fido", which encouraged dog owners to lose weight by exercising with their dogs.
''Pedigree Dogs Exposed''
![CavalierKgChas2 wb](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/CavalierKgChas2_wb.jpg)
The organisation was criticised in an August 2008 BBC programme ''
Pedigree Dogs Exposed
''Pedigree Dogs Exposed'' is a BBC One investigative documentary, produced by Jemima Harrison, which looks into health and welfare issues facing pedigree dogs in the United Kingdom. It was originally broadcast on 19 August 2008.
The Kennel Club ...
'' for allowing breed standards, judging standards and breeding practices which are said to compromise the health of purebred dogs. The programme led various sponsors to withdraw their participation in Crufts and the BBC eventually dropped Crufts 2009 from its coverage. The Kennel Club initially defended their practices, and criticised the programme as "highly biased". It also lodged a complaint to regulatory authority
Ofcom
The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom.
Ofcom has wide-ranging powers acros ...
. Ofcom rejected the Kennel Club's claim of unfair editing and deceit, but found that the BBC did not give the Kennel Club "a proper opportunity to respond" to four specific allegations, including "an allegation about eugenics and a comparison with Hitler and the Nazi Party, or an allegation that it covered up the nature of an operation carried out on a Crufts Best in Show winner."
Due to the strong public response, the Kennel Club started rolling out new health plans. Breed standards for every breed went under review and show judges would be required to choose only healthy dogs.
Kennel Club changes breeding rules to end cruelty
Times Online New breed standards were announced in January 2009 and close inbreeding was banned.
References
Citations
General bibliography
*
*
External links
The Kennel Club
*
Discover Dogs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennel Club
Organizations established in 1873
Clubs and societies in London
1873 establishments in the United Kingdom
Dogs in the United Kingdom