How wonderfully supportive of breed health!
If such a typically sour perspective from this person holds true (though again -- what a wonderfully revealing viewpoint to send on to Sheila Crispin, Prof Bateson, and your own MPs working on animal welfare issues around dog breeding...), then the issue can be laid directly at the door of the past and present UK CKCS Club committee, which seems unable to talk to anyone productively on the issue of breed health, or organise anything health-related that would directly address their broader membership's concerns and the breed's own future (
funny how they could throw hundreds of hours of work and thousands of pounds into their big show gala at Blenheim this year though, isn't it?). Priorities, priorities!
The breed club had *direct* input into this scheme and it involves their own KC advisor/geneticist, so surely it is the responsibility of the current committee, to both the members they represent and to the breed they supposedly care about, to go back and meet with 1) the Kennel Club, 2) the RVC, 3) Jeff Sampson, 4) Dr Rusbridge -- and sort their mess out if it is not strongly supported (but on the other hand -- as club members have never much supported any health initiative or protocol in any meaningful numbers, as their own heart specialist has confirmed -- why would anyone expect some of these people to change now, even though increasing numbers of cavalier owners find they have cavaliers shrieking in pain?). Are they really so utterly incapable of working -with- anyone on health issues -- for a scheme -they asked for- -- and that involves organisations and individuals who clearly are far more aware of the reality of these breed problems because they do the research and see the patients with the conditions?
If the scheme is not supported, then it is a public condemnation and indictment of the club, the committee, and breeders who refuse to do so. Nothing more clearly would show gross ineptitude and an extraordinary inability to do one iota towards dealing with this drastic breed problem than the fact that they would ignore a programme thats the national Kennel Club, the leading vet research school, their own advisor and geneticist, and the leading researcher into SM agree on as absolutely critical to helping this breed.
As we can see, the priority for funding and club effort is obviously parading their dogs at Blenheim... where too many will feel that buying something at the health auction will be doing their bit for health -- meanwhile not properly heart or SM-testing their dogs, not following breeding protocols, not supporting research, and not doing anything meaningful for the breed.
Some of these people should know better -- you know who you are, ladies and gents of the club -- though they hide the facts, they know full will how many of their dogs produce affected offspring, and shamelessly sell on dogs they know are affected to breeders in other countries, who continue to breed them and further diminish the hope of ever minimising, much less eradicating, SM. And many other breeders in the clubs on both sides of the ocean know, whisper about it, AND DO NOTHING.