Breed Council - ill informed or ill intention 

Rumours will have it that there is once again warmongering among the breeders of English Bulldogs here in South Africa: there is talk in certain circles of establishing a local Bulldog Breed Council. Imagine that! There are currently only two such breed councils in the world: one in the United Kingdom and one in the United States of America. (For the sake of this discussion we are disregarding the French Bulldog). The uninitiated may therefore say, why not have one of our own then: if the English may, and the Americans have, why not us? As in all decisions in life, the root of the problem lies in the motive. What is the driving force behind those who want to establish a Bulldog Breed Council in South Africa? Common sense dictates that there could only be two motivators: either they are ill-informed or they have malicious intent. Let's consider these two categories for a moment.

If the proponents for establishing a Bulldog Breed Council in South Africa are motivated by a lack of understanding, then it is our duty to guide them and bring them to the light. Even though there appears to be two Breed Councils on this pale blue dot we call Earth, there is in fact only one English Bulldog Breed Council and that is the one in the UK. The Breed Council in the USA has no jurisdiction over English Bulldogs in the States but is in fact a council looking after the interests of the American Bulldog and the breeders of that breed. It stands to reason therefore that there is only one official English Bulldog Breed Council that has the primary purpose and intent of maintaining the Breed Standard of our beloved sour mugs, and that is the council in the United Kingdom. It is stated clearly on their website that they preside over the Breed Standard, so who are we to want to create a second council to do the same? Except of course if we are trying to say that there is now a third type of Bulldog, namely the South African Bulldog? I sincerely hope not!

If, on the other hand, the proponents for establishing a Bulldog Breed Council in South Africa are motivated by malicious intent, then it is necessary to bring them to book. Their driving principle would have to be the age old strategy of "divide and conquer". Since they are unable to breed dogs that conform sufficiently to the official English Bulldog Breed Standard, as determined by knowledgeable judges at official shows, they now believe that the answer lies in having their own council. In so doing they would divide the Bulldog fraternity by separating those breeders who would be foolish enough to follow them, from the main stream breeders adhering to the current official standard as prescribed by the UK Breed Council. Under the influence of this delusion of grandeur they hope to have the power not only to adjust the Breed Standard to their liking but also hope to be able to enforce that bastardised standard on the breeders and judges of English Bulldogs in South Africa. What a ship of fools! As the late Grantland Rice once said, "All wars are planned by old men in council rooms apart." The moment we change one iota of the official Bulldog Breed Standard, we in fact create a new breed. Is that truly what dedicated breeders of English Bulldogs in this country want? I don't think so.

It is amazing how much time some people have to apply their minds to nonsensical campaigns, yet they do not have the time to improve their breeding programmes and the quality of their breeding stock. How come the baker, after having pulled a burnt loaf from the oven, blames the recipe rather than his incorrect heat setting? How come the fisherman blames the fish when using the wrong bait? Let us leave the ways of children behind us; let us act like grown-ups for a change. Instead of wracking our brains for a way to avoid the issues facing us, let us rather focus our energy on breeding better dogs and exhibiting better sportsmanship in and out of the ring.

Three cheers for the English Bulldog Breed Council in the UK!