Will watchdog prove toothless?
We've all been wondering who will chair the new Advisory Council on Welfare Issues of Dog Breeding and now we know.
It's Professor Sheila Crispin MA, VetMB, BSc, PhD, DVA, DVOphthal, DipECVO, FRCVS
Now you can't say this isn't someone who has a lot of qualifications, but... it's the fact that she's already a member of the Kennel Club which makes me sigh!
She was even a member of the old KC Breed Health and Welfare Strategy Group... and that obviously didn't sort the problem out did it!
What chance then of a firm hand confidently leading them to change?
Perhaps the only applicant?
Nope.
Accepting the appointment, Professor Crispin said:
“I am very honoured to have been selected from what I am aware was a very competitive field of candidates and I am thrilled to have this opportunity to contribute to a step change in the quality of life enjoyed by dogs of all sorts in this country. However, I am under no illusions about the scale of the challenge facing us. From the poor welfare of breeding bitches on puppy farms to the well documented issues of damaging conformation and genetic disease, we have a lot of problems to address.
"My next and most important tasks include the selection of the members of the Council and the development of a strategy prioritising our work over the short and medium term.
I would like to call on those who have a professional, personal or business interest in dogs to support the Council. That we have got this far is due to the commitment and generosity of a few key dog and animal welfare organisations and to their willingness to work together for the good of dogs. We will be looking for further support to help us in the task ahead.”
Suspect Clarges Street are smiling today. It's like Fabio finding out the referee for tonight's match is John Terry's dad.
Who knows maybe Shelia will be independent enough to make the changes that are needed for the protection of the dog in the future?
And who knows maybe we'll win the World Cup....
Comments
And if you seriously believe that the only qualification for having an opinion is having met someone there'd be no history books!
I've not made any personal remarks about her, I've just presented a matter of fact. She was part of the infrastructure that got dogs into this mess in the first place.
Asking someone already so closely involved in contributing to the problem to be part of the solution does not sound logical.
There has been and remains a culture of denial of the urgency and seriousness of the reforms needed and for such a vital role we needed someone who accepted these as fact and got their teeth into making the hard decisions ahead to protect the welfare of all our dogs.
A cosy insider appointment may take the heat off the KC, but it doesn't serve the best interests of dogs. And we are already seeing the focus change to be all encompassing fudge. In 12 days a year this committee would struggle to just look at a tiny aspect of inbreeding - never mind widening out to cover dangerous dogs and puppy farming!
This could have been a significant and bold step in the right direction, but I'm afraid I recognise the sort of footwork that would be well rewarded on Strictly Come Dancing.
Let's hope Prof Crispin isn't the pushover the KC hope she is going to be.
Bet Hargreaves
Emma
And it was very nice of the KC Charitable Trust to give Tailwaggers a donation, they do refer cases to us and more and more people need help with unexpected vet bills.