All,
The Bulldog Club of America Council approved the following recommendations to help us in our fight against radical animal rights extremist and help us to take back the narrative in the propaganda war that we are currently losing. A strong united front from responsible, reputable Bulldog breeders and owners is essential in discrediting the false information being expressed regarding our Bulldogs and those that breed and champion them.
Division Secretaries please forward this to all clubs in your Division and please ask them to put this item on their next club meeting agenda.
BCA members, Specialty club members and Bulldog owners please implement the following items in your responsibilities as a Bulldog owner.
- AKC Dog owners and breeders must be unified in the fact that our Breed Standards are the blueprint for Healthy, well-tempered and conformationally correct dogs, this united front demands that all dog breed owners be unified when it comes to ignorant criticism of a breed and its standard.
- We must own the potential health issues our breeds could possibly incur. We must make efforts to publicize the measures we are taking to improve our breeds in all ways. The BCA is and has been for years out front with encouraging and rewarding health testing and the Charitable Fund making available funds for numerous health studies, we need to make this information on these programs public for the good they do.
- We should use social media to show, as many of us have, what well-bred Bulldogs look like and are capable of.
While we were meeting it was noted that several New Hampshire legislators were sent educational videos showing brachycephalic breeds in performance and in general day to day activities. We were told that this helped the legislators in understanding that the breeds in question weren’t the genetic train wrecks as presented by the sponsor of the bill and the speakers in favor of New Hampshire 1102.
- We must make the time to meet our elected officials and educate them. For the most part our elected legislators are not involved in the Dog Fancy and are ignorant to our endeavors. Consider setting up a meeting at their office to discuss bills or ordinances that negatively or positively affect you as a dog owner and breeder. Invite your congressman to come to your show so they can see what their constituents are involved in. Seeing is believing and inviting your lawmaker to meet a litter of healthy puppies you have bred is another wonderful educational experience. Send your elected officials information, readily available by each state which you can find on the AKC Government Relations website, to show the economic impact of Dog shows and Performance events.
- BOAS testing using the Respiratory Function Grading Scheme can be used to increase awareness of healthy brachycephalic dog breeds. This thought might be considered controversial to some, but it is currently the most supported form of testing. We should actively recruit Veterinarians to become certified in this testing curriculum. As of today, there are no Veterinarians in New Hampshire that are certified to apply this testing metho
- The BCA, BCA members and Member Clubs, need to financially support, as best they can, groups individual State Federations, NAIA and AKC PACS. The intent and purpose of these groups is to protect our rights.
These are items we as individuals, member clubs and the BCA can constructively work on to become more effective in the PROPAGANDA war.
We are the experts when it comes to breeding Bulldogs and we must market our dogs for the quality and healthy Bulldogs we breed!
Thank you,
Ward L. McAfee
Bulldog Club of America
Legislative Committee
