I’d like to thank one of my blog followers for bringing the topic of vulnerable breeds to my attention, which falls right in line with some of the issues I’m researching on standards and breeding. A number of British dog breeds have been in decline and some, such as the Otterhound and Sky Terrier, face extinction; the English Setter was placed on the vulnerable breed list in 2012 for the first time. The main reason cited for this is that breeders and owners are turning away from traditional breeds to more “exotic” breeds
A “vulnerable” breed is one that has less than 300 registrations per year, and according to The Kennel Club, that list consists of:
Deerhounds, Greyhounds, Otterhounds, Irish Red & White Setters, Clumber Spaniels, Field Spaniels, Irish Water Spaniels, Sussex Spaniels, Miniature Bull Terriers, Dandie Dinmont Terriers, Smooth Fox Terriers, Glen of Imaal Terriers, Irish Terriers, Kerry Blue Terriers, Lakeland Terriers, Manchester Terriers, Norwich Terriers, Sealyham Terriers, Skye Terriers, Welsh Terriers, Smooth Collies, Lancashire Heelers, Cardigan Welsh Corgis, English Toy Terriers (Black & Tan).
However some traditional British breeds are making a comeback, according to BBC News. The number of new Setters recorded has now gone from 234 to 314, meaning it has now been moved from the “vulnerable” category to the Kennel Club’s “At Watch” list…
Registrations for vulnerable breeds are reflected to a large degree here in the United States. According to AKC breed registrations, over the past 10 years (2002-2012) the ranking of AKC breeds registered include the following: Dandie Dinmont Terriers dropped from a ranking of 139 to 170; Otterhounds 147 to 168; Sussex Spaniels 136 to 167; Sky Terriers 142 to 166; and Greyhounds 123 to 146. Just from eyeballing the lists, it looks like the most popular AKC breed on the vulnerable list is the Cardigan Welsh Corgis at number 75.
Tags: vulnerable dog breeds
February 28, 2013 at 12:17 am |
I cannot believe how many wonderful breeds are on that list. Personally, I’m a huge fan of Setters and am stunned they would appear there. Glad there’s something of a comeback happening.
March 1, 2013 at 5:30 am |
Thanks, I was surprised to see some of the breeds listed as vulnerable, especially some of the traditional breeds. I hope there are enough breeders out there to keep some of these lines going.
February 28, 2013 at 6:00 am |
Interesting. I would never guess so many sporting breeds are on that list.
March 1, 2013 at 5:36 am |
Thanks, I was surprised as well. It might be up to sportsmen to keep some of these breeds going.
February 28, 2013 at 12:42 pm |
Sadly, it’s very rare that I see an English Setter these days here in the UK. I had 2 over a period of 20 years and just love them. We chose this time to have a Spinone, so I feel partially responsible for the decline in numbers! I do think that both these breeds share many excellent characteristics the main ones for me being their very gentle nature and the fact that they are excellent with children.
Thank you for your blogpost.
March 1, 2013 at 5:45 am |
Thanks for bringing this topic to my attention. I don’t often see setters around here, although I am beginning to see more of them while hunting. I’ve always been partial to them, particularly the Irish and Gordon setters. I like my Spins to be braced with setters during hunt tests, they seem to have a nice flow to their hunt.