Are puppies born the wrong colour still being euthanised?

Large Munsterlander

It is expressly forbidden in the Kennel Club's code of ethics but, according to show breeder and judge Annette Hewitt,  Large Munsterlander puppies are being euthanised for being born the wrong colour.

"Bucketing" was once a common practice in many breeds but is much less prevalent today - partly because most modern breeders find it hard to kill the puppies themselves; partly because very few vets will euthanise a healthy puppy just because it doesn't conform to the breed standard.

This week's Dog World documents a dispute between Mrs Hewitt and the Large Munsterlander Club UK (See article here). It tells how the Club turned down Mrs Hewitt's request to join on the basis that she had registered brown-and-white Munsterlander puppies when they turned up unexpectedly in a recent litter. 

Brown is carried recessively in the breed, due to its shared ancestry with the brown-and-white German Longhaired Pointer, and it still pops up occasionally despite attempts to stamp it out.

Kennel Club rules allowed Mrs Hewitt to register the brown and white pups as "colour not recognised" and she sold the pups (in demand for pet/work) with endorsements preventing them from being bred - but it clearly caused much tutting within the Club. When Mrs Hewitt re-applied to join the Club after her membership had lapsed, she was turned down because of this Club rule.

Club members must only allow matings between dogs and bitches "which both conform to the colour defined in the breed standard"whether registered or not.

Mrs Hewitt complained to the Kennel Club which instructed the Club to remove the clause from their rules, which it has now done.

�I'm aware that brown and white puppies are often euthanised or remain unregistered, and that�s no help to the breed," says Mrs Hewitt. 

"I�ve been a breeder for many years and when I was chucked out of the club I said that while there was breath in my body I would get the rule overturned. My own deep and painful feelings are unimportant compared to the interest of the breed.�

No doubt the Club is suitably contrite.

Not a bit of it!

As Dog World reports:

... chairman Christine Ogle said that clubs have the right to refuse anyone�s membership application without giving a reason, and �next time we shan�t give a reason�.

Mrs Ogle says she is not aware of brown dogs being culled but reflects the general discriminatory tone adopted by many LM breeders by claiming, absurdly, that "the head shape and characteristics of brown and white dogs are very different".

No, Mrs Ogle. They are exactly the same as the black and white dogs. They are just a different colour. 

The Large Munsterlander has a small gene pool, it suffers from inbreeding and the overuse of popular sires and only 94 puppies were registered in the UK in 2014. 

Breeders cannot afford to be throwing away good dogs because they are the wrong colour. They have at their disposal a DNA test which identifies those dogs carrying brown, enabling carriers to be bred and managed within the breed.

Surely it's time the Kennel Club insisted that a basic genetics course is a prerequisite for all breed club committee members?  It would be incredibly simple to set up one online and would really help stop this kind of nonsense which so often damages rather than protects a breed.