The Kennel Club Annual Report 2020/2021 A message from the Chairman and Chief Executive of The Kennel Club

It has been a tumultuous year for all, and the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic have impacted on all of our lives in a myriad of ways. I wish to extend my sympathies to all those who have suffered as a result of this awful disease. Thankfully, at the time of writing, the most onerous of the Government restrictions are in the process of being lifted and I sincerely hope that in the weeks and months ahead we can all start to return to the events and activities we so enjoy and value. We are also looking forward to welcoming our members back to Clarges St and the Club once we are in a position to fully reopen.

In spite of the challenges we faced in Board and Chief Executive, in between sympathetic response it received. Our 2020 and indeed are still facing, I want our formal meetings. These have proven focus is now on making Crufts 2022 a to highlight some of the vital work we to be of great value and enabled us to really exceptional celebration of all have done to improve the health and react swiftly and decisively to the many things canine. welfare of dogs. This has included our challenges the pandemic created for us as lobbying, charitable and public relations an organisation. Finally, as Chairman, I would like to express work, which took on an even greater my immense gratitude for the exceptional significance as the challenges of the Working with the Chief Executive and his contribution made every single day by pandemic for dog owners became more team, important and positive projects our dedicated and committed staff and evident with each passing month. for 2021 and 2022 include co-creating a volunteers. My sincere thanks also go to new vision and strategy for The Kennel my fellow Board Directors for their support I would especially like to praise the Club as well as strategic reviews for the during this challenging year. efforts of all at The Kennel Club, both Assured Breeders scheme and Education staff and volunteers, who have worked and Training. These initiatives will grow and As the nation’s leading organisation so exceptionally hard across all areas support our priorities for improving dog dedicated to protecting and promoting the to support the canine world during this health and welfare as well as the Club’s health and welfare of all dogs, I believe unpredictable and ever-changing period. canine activities. there is so much to be proud of in this report, despite the current climate of In a more positive vein, I was delighted I am delighted that The Kennel Club uncertainty. We will see better days ahead to welcome our new Chief Executive in Genetics Centre has officially re-opened and together we can all make a difference October of last year, Mark Beazley, who and is now located at the University for dogs. came to us from his post as Director of of Cambridge Veterinary School. This Operations at Cats Protection. Prior to this, followed the sad announcement last July he also held executive positions at Dogs of the closure of the Animal Health Trust. Trust Ireland and the Irish Society for the The Kennel Club Charitable Trust has Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. In the funded the centre since its initial launch short time he has been with us, he has in 2009. Later in the year, it is hoped that already instigated a number of measures Discover Dogs will be able to go ahead as designed to address the issues the planned at the Excel, London, subject to Club has faced in recent times and thus Government guidelines surrounding indoor deliver a better service to our customers, events. The show is currently London’s an improved working environment for only major all-breed dog event, so here’s our people and, of course, to ensure we hoping we can bring a little much-needed continue with our mission of making a ‘canine joy’ to our capital later in the year. difference for dogs. Very sadly, we had to take the difficult In order to ensure strong communication decision to cancel Crufts 2021. Whilst this and support during the pandemic, I news was disappointing for all concerned, Tony Allcock OBE instigated regular meetings with the we have been very touched by the Chairman

02 The Kennel Club Annual Report 2020/2021 I am delighted to have joined The Kennel Club as its Chief Executive, even during what has undoubtedly been a particularly challenging period for the organisation and the UK as a whole. From my previous experience in animal welfare, I knew that the Club carries out hugely valuable work for dogs, but it was not until I started in my new role that I came to realise the sheer breadth of our involvement in so many areas of canine health and welfare.

Even in the midst of the pandemic, all our people have striven to do their utmost to support our customers, be they breeders, dog owners or those wishing to welcome a puppy into their lives for the first time. I am also particularly passionate about our work dedicated to protecting and promoting the health and welfare of all dogs through lobbying and education and have been truly encouraged by our work in these areas.

We have had our challenges following the launch of the new IT system and at times we did not provide the level of service to our customers that we would have wished, and for that I sincerely apologise. I have however been impressed by the commitment and desire of all our people to overcome these challenges and the sheer effort that has gone into improving the situation.

The Kennel Club’s mission statement concentrates on making a difference for dogs and already, in the short time I have been with the organisation, I have seen how our staff and volunteers have worked hard to drive home the message to the general public about responsible ownership and other aspects of canine care during this unprecedented time.

My focus now is to work with my staff colleagues and the Board on the delivery of a fresh strategy and vision for The Kennel Club in the years ahead so that we can indeed deliver on that all important mission of making a difference for dogs.

I would like to thank our Chairman, the Board and all my colleagues for their support over the last number of months.

Mark Beazley Chief Executive

The Kennel Club Annual Report 2020/2021 03 Our strategic objectives

The Kennel Club’s mission statement focuses on making a difference for dogs and this report highlights the impact we’ve had in delivering against our nine strategic objectives and demonstrating how everything we do supports one or more of these objectives.

1 Invest in canine health and 3 welfare Encourage the 2 responsible breeding of pedigree dogs Facilitate the breeding of healthy dogs 5 4 Promote the positive benefits Encourage the of dogs in society responsible ownership of dogs

04 The Kennel Club Annual Report 2020/2021 6 Promote and regulate canine activities and competitions

7 Provide opportunities for education and training

8 Engage with the wider dog owning public 9 Promote The Kennel Club as the leading national organisation regarding all canine related matters

The Kennel Club Annual Report 2020/2021 05 Covid-19

The Covid-19 pandemic has obviously had a significant impact on The Kennel Club over the past 12 months, as it has for all businesses across the UK and beyond. In this section, we will outline how we have adapted to the ever-changing situation, in terms of our staff, day-to-day work, the events which we license and the support we have been able to offer across all of these sectors.

| Our staff | Online Covid-19

Following the Prime Minister’s instruction in March information hub 2020 that people should work from home where With the uncertainty surrounding Covid-19, possible, The Kennel Club closed its offices for all The Kennel Club liaised with DEFRA early in the but essential purposes and quickly adapted to a pandemic and created a comprehensive information home-working model. hub ahead of the national lockdown. Over 73 pages of information and FAQs were developed to help To support our staff during the Covid-19 lockdown stakeholders navigate the crisis, including breeders, period, we provided homeworkers with the show organisers, dog training clubs and breed necessary IT and telephony equipment and rescue organisations. We also voiced the concerns introduced a number of practical and well-being of breeders and training clubs and ensured the support initiatives. During this period, we also challenges they were facing were addressed in utilised the Government’s Coronavirus Job advice drafted by the Canine Feline Sector Group Retention Scheme for those employees who and later approved by Government. were unable to perform their roles from home. We expanded the hub to provide vital resources and We also conducted surveys to understand our practical advice for new owners as well, including employees’ views on returning to the office as we at-home training and socialisation tips. emerge from lockdown. From March to June 2020 alone, during the height | Our venues of the pandemic, our Covid hub was visited by over 744,000 users and received great feedback from The Emblehope and Stoneleigh venues have stakeholders who felt they hadn’t received any been greatly impacted by the pandemic. In line specific advice from Government. with Government guidance, we closed both

venues in March 2020 resulting in the cancellation of 109 events at The Kennel Club Building at Stoneleigh and 31 events at Emblehope. When the Government implemented the tier system, Emblehope could have proceeded with hosting events in the autumn, but travel and overnight restrictions meant it was not practicable for events to proceed.

In preparation for when events can go ahead, a lot of work has been undertaken to make our venues Covid safe, in line with Government guidelines and we expect to be able to reopen on a gradual basis when the Government lifts current restrictions or when it is considered safe to do so.

06 The Kennel Club Annual Report 2020/2021 In preparation for when events can go ahead, “a lot of work has been undertaken to make our venues Covid safe.

The Kennel Club Annual Report 2020/2021 07 08 The Kennel Club Annual Report 2020/2021 From March to June 2020 alone, during the height of “the pandemic, our Covid hub was visited by over 744,000 users and received great feedback from stakeholders who felt they hadn’t received any specific advice from Government.

The Kennel Club Annual Report 2020/2021 09 Covid-19

| Help for dog shows

In 2020 we took the decision to go ahead with our flagship event, Crufts, just weeks before what would become the first national lockdown. At that time the situation was evolving rapidly and we were guided by the science available.

However, over the course of the year that followed, the dog event calendar was understandably decimated. Of the 3,269 events which we had licensed in advance, just 607 took place, the majority of which were held before the first Yulia Titovets / The Kennel Club © lockdown in March 2020. The Kennel Club has issued refunds to the value of over £90,000 and rolled over licence fees at the society’s request for more than 600 shows until this year in the hope that they will be able to take place.

Over the year, the Show Executive Committee has reviewed and relaxed its regulations until the end of 2021 to assist clubs and societies as far as possible. These have included regulations allowing societies to cap entries and provide digital award cards, and the removal of the requirement for an award board. Additional requests for exemptions to regulations, including benching and wet weather accommodation have been considered on a case by case basis throughout the year.

Due to the disruption caused by Covid-19, it was decided that breed clubs could carry 2021 championship shows over to 2022. Criteria have been put in place to ensure that these carry over events are for the benefit of exhibitors whilst also assisting societies as far as possible with selecting dates in the fluid 2021/2022 show diary.

| Other activities

In order to help other activities resume safely after the first lockdown, The Kennel Club again approved a variety of amendments and suspensions to existing regulations. The intention was to remove elements of a show or trial that might cause difficulties for show organisers when considering Covid-19 risks.

Both the Activities and Field Trial Committees have regularly reviewed the need for the amendments and suspensions and considered further changes. The timeframe for the suspensions and amendments has been extended to the end of the year for activities disciplines and to February 2022 for field trials.

10 The Kennel Club Annual Report 2020/2021 Covid-19

| Competitor survey

Ahead of the Government’s announcement of the ‘roadmap’ towards easing the Covid-19 restrictions, The Kennel Club conducted a survey to gauge the desire of those involved to return to events.

The survey was completed by a total of 8,036 people and showed that 60 per cent of competitors wanted events to return as soon as possible, but in a phased and safe manner. 55 per cent of judges and 53 per cent of event organisers also stated that they would like to see shows and trials resume as soon as Government regulations allowed.

Looking further ahead, 97 per cent of competitors said they would be happy to return to events within a year of lockdown easing, with 96 per cent of judges and 84 per cent of event organisers wanting to return to their hobby within the same timeframe. While most respondents were keen to see a swift return to competing, the survey revealed that 63 per cent of those who compete at dog shows are not comfortable or sure about attending indoor events in the short-term period.

Following the survey, and in line with the easing of restrictions, The Kennel Club issued new guidance for societies considering holding shows.

A step-by-step guide to pre-event planning, including essential financial risk assessments, is available on our website.

55% 60% of judges stated that of competitors they would like to see wanted events to shows and trials resume return as soon as soon as Government as possible regulations allowed

97% of competitors said they would be happy to return to events within a year of lockdown easing

The Kennel Club Annual Report 2020/2021 11 Covid-19

| Emergency Relief Initiative

The Kennel Club, along with The Kennel Club Charitable Trust (KCCT) and The Kennel Club Educational Trust (KCET) were quick to realise the effect that the pandemic would have on the world of dogs and those working with them. The day after the first lockdown commenced in March 2020, they joined forces to announce the creation of an emergency relief fund to support dog rescue centres and other canine organisations affected by the pandemic.

The KCCT Emergency Relief Initiative was set up to help support those community-based canine organisations requiring emergency funds in order to prevent the unnecessary suffering of dogs, such as providing additional support for small to medium sized rescue centres. The KCET fund supported those associated with The Kennel Club by offering dog training services which were significantly affected by the lockdowns.

Our Dogs Publishing agreed to support the KCCT Emergency Relief Initiative and, as a result, the £50,000 the KCCT put up was nearly doubled and it was able to provide much needed support to 32 breed rescue and small rescue charities. These included breed rescue organisations such as the Northern Ireland Staffordshire Bull Terrier Club and Greyhound Rescue, as well as other general smaller dog rescue organisations such as Friends of Animals Wales, the charity from where Boris Johnson rehomed Dilyn the Jack Russell Terrier.

The Kennel Club Educational Trust was able to offer grants to 14 organisations which applied who were suffering financially as a direct result of the pandemic, in order to help safeguard their future. Recipients of the funds include Fleur’s Happy Hounds, K9 Pursuits Ltd, and Pet Behaviour Scotland.

12 The Kennel Club Annual Report 2020/2021 Covid-19

| #BePuppywise campaign

The Kennel Club saw demand for puppies increase significantly due to the pandemic, as many people found themselves at home and felt in a position to get a dog. From the start of the first lockdown in March until the end of June 2020, when restrictions began to ease, searches via our Find a Puppy tool increased by 187 per cent compared to 2019. The Kennel Club needed to react quickly to prevent potential negative consequences.

In response, we launched our #BePuppywise campaign which highlighted the potential effects of the pandemic on responsible puppy acquisition, including impulsive puppy buying, rogue breeders, scammers and frauds cashing in on demand, issues around restrictions preventing usual interactions with the breeder and puppy, and the future problems around puppy behaviour, socialisation and training.

Running from April via press activity, social media, and marketing and digital content, the campaign included advice-driven videos, infographics, digital advertising, and PR activity based on research into lockdown puppy buying. Over 800 news outlets, which included front page national news, a feature on breakfast television and a regional radio campaign, helped us to raise awareness of the key issues. The advice reached a combined audience of around 320 million and over 26,000 people visited the campaign webpages. Since the campaign launch, users to our website almost tripled.

Throughout 2021, we plan to sustain and grow the #BePuppywise campaign by highlighting behavioural issues due to lack of socialisation, post-lockdown regrets about buying a puppy and the unscrupulous selling of poorly bred puppies.

| Breed rescue

Dogs provided many people with a vital lifeline during the pandemic, and there have been many examples of individuals whose lives have been made more bearable by having the company of a dog during lockdown. The result of the increased demand for dogs over the past year has resulted in the number of dogs available for rehoming from rescues decreasing, leading to a shortage of dogs available across the UK.

Whilst the short-term impact on The Kennel Club Breed Rescue organisations has been positive, there are concerns that as people return to normal working patterns, the number of dogs relinquished or abandoned may increase. We have therefore taken an early decision to make available a Breed Rescue directory for 2021 which will provide a valuable resource, not just those who are looking for a rescue dog, but also for those who find that they are no longer able to keep their dog and need to find someone who can assist with rehoming.

The Kennel Club Annual Report 2020/2021 13 The Kennel Club Educational “Trust was able to offer grants to 14 organisations who were suffering financially as a direct result of the pandemic, in order to help safeguard their future.

14 The Kennel Club Annual Report 2020/2021 The Kennel Club Annual Report 2020/2021 15 Covid-19

| Young Kennel Club

The Young Kennel Club (YKC), for young people aged 6-24, has held an extremely busy year of online activities for its members in lieu of being able to organise events in person. In May, the YKC launched its first online dog show via Facebook and Instagram. The event took place over 18 days and featured all pedigree dog groups and other novelty categories with over 1,000 members taking part. Further online shows were held in October and again in April 1,000 this year. YKC members took part in the online The YKC held its popular Summer Camp online in August over 11 days and more dog show than 300 members took part in various camp activities with prizes to be won.

During the third national lockdown earlier this year, the YKC held a Dog Walking Challenge encouraging members to take up the challenge to cumulatively walk either five or ten miles. A total of 75 members took part and collectively walked a total of 615 miles.

With so much time stuck at home, the YKC has nurtured members’ creative skills over the course of the year. In July, a YKC Life in Lockdown Competition was held, with members sending videos or photographs on what they had been doing during lockdown with their dogs, with money donated by The 300 Kennel Club Educational Trust for the winner. A YKC ‘spotlight on art’ monthly members took download for members to take part in various art activities was launched part in online in September, and the YKC Artist of the Year Competition got underway in camp activities January this year. A creative writing competition was announced in March, encouraging members to submit a creative short story, based on the theme of ‘The Adventures Of…’.

The annual YKC Young Person of the Year Awards will take place again this year, with nominations in five categories: Personal Achievement award, Compassion, Inspiring Others, Creative Talent and Community.

| Meetings 75 members took part in During the pandemic, we moved meetings online for our various committees, the walking challenge councils, working groups and panels. and collectively walked a total of The Kennel Club Annual General Meeting in 2020 took place virtually and was a 615 miles closed meeting, attended by the Chairman, Directors of the Board and selected staff. Members were not able to participate, but instead received a report of the meeting on the day of the AGM. Members were invited to submit questions regarding AGM agenda items in advance of the meeting. The meeting was also recorded, and members could request a recording if they wished.

Our 2021 AGM will be a much more interactive affair, with members able to join the meeting virtually and listen, submit questions live on the day through the chat bar or by raising their hand, and will be able to speak in person. Again, members are asked to submit questions in advance of the meeting and responses to any questions which are not answered on the day will be collated and circulated to the members in a report post the AGM. It is anticipated that a face to face meeting of the membership will be held towards the end of this year reverting to the usual format for general meetings.

16 The Kennel Club Annual Report 2020/2021 Covid-19

| Guidance for societies

Due to the restrictions on social gatherings as a result of the pandemic, The Kennel Club considered how best to help registered societies to proceed with their own routine AGM business, especially as many were unable to hold their 2020 AGM. The rules and established practice of most registered societies would normally require that AGMs are physical meetings and allow no provision for postal/online voting.

In order to circumvent the need to hold physical AGMs, The Kennel Club introduced a new regulation so that irrespective of what a club’s constitution may provide, registered societies could relax or suspend some of their constitutional provisions. This came into effect from 5 February 2021 and has since been extended to the end of the year. A guidance note for registered societies is available on our website.

The Kennel Club considered “how best to help registered societies to proceed with their own routine AGM business

The Kennel Club Annual Report 2020/2021 17 Canine health

Whilst Covid-19 prevented us from delivering some of the plans which had been in place, health remained at the top of The Kennel Club’s agenda over the past year.

18 The Kennel Club Annual Report 2020/2021 | Health testing

The restriction of veterinary services to offering only emergency treatment and the closure of the British Veterinary Association’s (BVA) premises for long periods of 2020 led to significant problems for breeders who wanted to health screen their dogs prior to breeding. In particular, there were delays in hip and elbow x-rays being able to be scored within The Kennel Club/BVA Hip and Elbow scheme and a significant backlog developed. However, by deploying additional resources, this was cleared by the end of March 2021 and the BVA has committed to offering improved services over the coming years.

The formation and progression of The Kennel Club Neurology Development Group made up of vets and leading neurology specialists in the UK, has led to the launch of The Kennel Club/Dachshund Health IVDD health scheme for Dachshunds. Intervertebral Disc Disease (IVDD) is by far the most common health problem in UK Dachshunds – around 1 in 4 may be affected at some stage in their lives – and this accessible tool is available for breeders of all varieties, helping them to make informed decisions and improve the health of this popular breed.

This year saw a 19 per cent increase in assessments under The Kennel Club/University of Cambridge Respiratory Function Grading (RFG) scheme for Bulldogs, French Bulldogs and Pugs. The profile and reputation of the scheme has increased worldwide and is supported by the FCI (Fédération Cynologique Internationale). The Kennel Club has embarked on a programme to collaborate with overseas canine organisations to make the scheme available to protect and improve the health of these breeds globally. Arrangements have been made with New Zealand, Netherlands and Sweden and discussions are underway with organisations in Denmark, Portugal, Norway and Australia. An online training course has been devised to enable overseas organisations to have access to the scheme regardless of travel restrictions being in place.

Over 400 Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Heart scheme assessments have been undertaken to date, and to encourage further screening, The Kennel Club has agreed to support and subsidise breed clubs so they can hold heart testing sessions for this breed across the UK. We also intend to expand our cardiology development programme with the Veterinary Cardiovascular Society, with the aim of offering accessible and affordable heart testing to protect and improve dog health in several Kennel Club recognised breeds.

The Kennel Club Annual Report 2020/2021 19 Canine health

| CombiBreed™ | Other work

CombiBreed, which originally launched in 2019, The Breed Health and Conservation Plan Project offers a simple and cost-effective way for owners is progressing, and an individual plan is now to use a single swab to test their dog for the most in place for most breeds covering over 90 per relevant inherited conditions in their breed. In cent of Kennel Club registered dogs. The Kennel December 2020, The Kennel Club and our partner Club has continued to work alongside breeders Weatherbys significantly increased the range and breed clubs to create a single and unique of CombiBreed DNA testing packages, with 38 resource, bringing together all available health new health test bundles for 41 breeds, bringing information and data, to support balanced the total number of breed-specific DNA testing breeding decisions to make health a priority. packages up to 61. Plans to hold health testing days during both A number of single DNA tests are now available 2020 and 2021 have had to be postponed through CombiBreed, but many of the testing several times to ensure that they can be held in packages combine a range of DNA tests specific accordance with Government guidelines. It is still to each available breed. Using a single swab to the intention to arrange sessions before the end check for a variety of different inherited disorders of 2021. means that breeders no longer have to organise individual tests from several different laboratories. This simplified process helps responsible | The Kennel Club breeders to work towards eliminating certain health conditions from their breed, and also Genetics Centre encourages first time breeds to make the health Sadly, the former home of The Kennel Club of their puppies a priority. Genetics Centre, the Animal Health Trust, was forced to close in 2020. However, in April we Results from these tests are automatically were delighted to announce that, thanks to uploaded onto The Kennel Club’s database and funding from The Kennel Club Charitable Trust are available for all to view on our website. Making and support from The Kennel Club, The Kennel this information freely available allows breeders Club Genetics Centre would reopen within the and puppy buyers to check that the dog they are confines of the University of Cambridge, ensuring interested in is health tested or comes from health that this important work continues into the future. tested parents. All the samples and data that had been gathered over several years have been secured and moved In 2020, 911 CombiBreed kits were sent out to to the new facility. customers and provided 3,146 DNA test results.

For more information on CombiBreed health tests packages, visit thekennelclub.org.uk/combibreed.

38 911 new health test bundles kits sent 3,146 DNA test results for 41 breeds to customers

20 The Kennel Club Annual Report 2020/2021 Canine health

| International Canine Health Awards

We run the annual International Canine Health Awards through The Kennel Club Charitable Trust, underwritten by a major gift from Vernon and Shirley Hill, founders of Metro Bank. The awards were developed to recognise and reward innovative researchers, veterinary scientists and students who are significantly impacting the health and well being of dogs and are judged by a panel of influential representatives from the veterinary profession and the world of scientific research.

The 2020 winners were given prize money to further their work in the field of canine research. Professor Dr Tosso Leeb was awarded the International Award for his expertise in veterinary molecular genetics, leading to the formation of a world-class genetics research programme in Bern, Switzerland. Professor Dr Urs Giger won the Lifetime Achievement Award for his work spanning four decades dedicated to the study of clinical haematology in dogs, hereditary diseases and genetic predispositions, and transfusions medicine, the results of which have helped impact testing for The Kennel Club across many breeds.

Dr Valeria Bergomi, winner of the Postgraduate Student Inspiration Award, will use her prize to further expand her outstanding research into canine diabetes, a serious problem in clinical practice. Dr Sarah Helps, recipient of the Breed Health Coordinator Award, was acclaimed for her dedication and commitment to improving the health of the Deerhound, a breed she has been involved with for over 40 years. Her passion for the breed has seen her support veterinary research into dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in UK Deerhounds.

| International Partnership for Dogs

We are a founding partner and provide secretarial support to the International Partnership for Dogs (IPFD), an international non-profit organisation which aims to encourage co-operation, collaboration and sharing of information and resources within the global dog community.

One of the main areas of the IPFD’s work over the past year has been the continued development of the Harmonization of Genetic Testing for Dogs project. This is a collaborative international effort that not only provides a searchable database of genetic testing providers, including details on their accreditation, expertise and practices, but is also advancing those tools needed to support breed-relevant genetic advice; all of which helps researchers, vets, and owners/breeders to navigate the world of genetic testing.

The Kennel Club Annual Report 2020/2021 21 The Kennel Club Charitable Trust

In addition to the funds which it made available for the Emergency Relief Initiative and to support The Kennel Club Genetics Centre, The Kennel Club Charitable Trust (KCCT) continued its day-to-day work to ‘make a difference for dogs’ over the past year.

The KCCT is an independent charity, which The KCCT also supports rescue charities, and The Kennel Club founded in 1987. Since then, 2020’s grants included funding to support the likes it has awarded grants totalling over £11 million of Great Dane Care Charitable Trust, to rehabilitate towards improving the health and welfare of dogs. dogs with socialisation and behavioural issues, and During 2020, the KCCT approved nearly £800,000 Refuge4Pets who provide treatment for dogs in in grants to a wide variety of applicants across temporary foster care due to domestic violence. three main areas: To help support its future work, the KCCT has engaged Gifted Philanthropy Ltd to recommend and • Science help the charity initiate its first ever professional Research into canine health problems fundraising programme with the specific objective • Support of widening its reach of donors at every level, The training of dogs to help people in increasing the KCCT’s profile and generating an their everyday lives income of £5 million in five years. • Welfare The rescue and welfare of dogs in need of care and attention

The Kennel Club Charitable Trust this year pledged over £500,000 to help advance research into brachycephalic dog health and to support future research by Dr Jane Ladlow into Brachycephalic Airways Obstructive Syndrome in 13 further breeds at the University of Cambridge. Other scientific research which will be carried out thanks to grants from the KCCT include studies into intervertebral disc disease and canine mast cell tumours.

Among the support charities which benefitted from a KCCT grant in 2020 were Young Gloucestershire, a charitable organisation that helps young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to gain the tools and skills for a better life, by providing funds for training and employment of a therapy dog and a handler. Border Collie, Buddy and his handler, Vanessa Radwell from Stroud, will support therapy sessions that the charity provides to young people struggling with various mental health issues.

22 The Kennel Club Annual Report 2020/2021 The Kennel Club Annual Report 2020/2021 23 Lobbying

The Kennel Club lobbies at a local, national and UK-wide level to influence key decision makers in matters relating to policies and legislation which affect dogs and dog owners.

| Effects of the pandemic | Successes

The pandemic resulted in considerable changes to our way of In other work, we were able to celebrate a number of successes. lobbying over the past year including the cancellation of both our Following a significant lobbying effort, we were able to persuade Westminster and Holyrood Dog of the Year events. Beyond this, the Scottish Government to drop the ‘business test’ licensing considerable parliamentary time and Civil Service resources were threshold from their new dog breeding regulations. We welcomed diverted to dealing with the pandemic. the implementation of a ban on the commercial third-party sale of puppies in Scotland, more commonly known as Lucy’s Law. Following the announcement of the first national lockdown in Additionally, the Scottish Government introduced new restrictions March 2020, a number of significant animal welfare concerns on the use and sale of fireworks, which had been the theme of became quickly apparent, including litters of puppies ready to our Holyrood Dog of the Year event in 2019. be homed. The Kennel Club assessed what legal options dog breeders had available to them to get their puppies to new homes We successfully established and launched our Primary Authority and simultaneously raised the issue with Government. We also partnership with the City of London for our licensed Assured provided interpretation and guidance on how and where dog Breeders scheme members in England. The partnership was owners could exercise their dogs and how dog trainers could established to address inconsistencies in how licensing operate under Covid restrictions. regulations are imposed by local authorities, especially in relation to how membership of the Assured Breeders scheme should be recognised during inspections. One such example was the case of an assured breeder, who having been initially awarded a one star, one year licence by his local authority, contacted The Kennel Club and, through the Primary Authority partnership, was upgraded to a five star, three year licence.

24 The Kennel Club Annual Report 2020/2021 | Brexit

Following the end of the Brexit transition period, all dogs travelling from Great Britain into Northern Ireland will now have to comply with the same rules as those being transported into the EU. In practice, this requires dogs to be vaccinated against rabies and treated with worming medication prior to crossing this new pet travel border. It is inevitable these restrictions will significantly impact upon breeders, exhibitors and those organising dog shows, who have previously relied upon the ability to freely move dogs around the UK.

The Kennel Club, working collaboratively with the Belfast Dog Show Society, has been applying extensive pressure on the Government to find a solution to this issue, including writing to the relevant ministers, civil servants and key backbench politicians on both sides of the Irish Sea and ensuring that the issue was raised in the media. We welcomed correspondence received from the Government Minister, Lord Frost, which acknowledged the impact of this new pet travel border, with a commitment to exploring potential solutions.

The House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee launched an inquiry into the movement of animals across borders to which we submitted evidence. Furthermore, the EU-UK Partnership Council identified pet travel as a priority area which must be urgently addressed, with both the UK Government and the European Commission committing to discussing solutions which will comprehensively address the newly imposed barriers on pet travel between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

| Microchipping

The UK Government consulted on compulsory microchipping for cats, which we expect will be introduced in due course. The Kennel Club focused its response to ensure that the regulations were fit for purpose with respect to our operation, Petlog. Additionally, a number of compulsory microchip scanning measures were also consulted upon, which we support in principle but believe would need to be introduced alongside better regulation of database operators to ensure that changes would deliver benefits in practice.

| Welsh regulations

In Wales, we launched a dedicated manifesto ahead of the 2021 Senedd elections. The Kennel Club fed into an independent review of dog breeding regulations which was commissioned by the Welsh Government in light of concerns over the effectiveness of the regulations. We broadly welcomed the findings of the independent review.

The Welsh Government also introduced a ban on the commercial third party sale of puppies; however, as part of these regulations, they introduced a new licensing requirement for breeders with one or two breeding bitches who are deemed to be in the business of selling animals as pets. We will be picking this up with the new Welsh Government following the Senedd election in May 2021.

The Kennel Club Annual Report 2020/2021 25 26 The Kennel Club Annual Report 2020/2021 We successfully established and “launched our Primary Authority partnership with the City of London for our licensed Assured Breeders scheme members in England.

The Kennel Club Annual Report 2020/2021 27 New initiatives

This section highlights several of The Kennel Club’s future focused projects. During the year, we carried out a significant overhaul of our IT systems, websites and databases. We also initiated strategic reviews of a number of our core services including education and training and launched a programme of projects to support the development of our people strategy, including the implementation of organisation-wide values.

| IT upgrades

In 2020, The Kennel Club undertook the biggest upgrade of its IT systems for over 35 years. This project was a huge undertaking and involved teams from across the whole organisation. Over 40 million records relating to dogs as well as individuals were migrated to our new Microsoft Dynamics platform which will ensure that we have a more stable, secure and flexible system upon which we can build further enhancements over the coming months. This new IT infrastructure has established the necessary foundations to make our organisation fit for a digital future.

As with many major new IT systems, there were technical issues post launch and therefore we continue to listen to customer feedback so that improvements can be made on a continual basis such as the reinstatement of the second generation pedigree view when using the dog look-up service and enhancements to search functionality. In light of the issues customers experienced with the new system after launch, particularly relating to setting up accounts and processing delays on applications, for which we sincerely apologise, we have commissioned Grant Thornton to conduct an independent review of the IT and website project, so that important lessons can be learned and improvements to project management and implementation can be applied for the future.

In March 2021, our Petlog service was also relaunched onto a new secure platform that will enable us to expand the business with new partners.

Our Find a Judge, Club and Show services will be launched online this summer.

| Education and training review

The Board requested a review be undertaken of all The Kennel Club’s education and training offerings. The review has just been completed and more on its recommendations and implementation will be included in next year’s report..

28 The Kennel Club Annual Report 2020/2021 | HR initiatives

The last 12 months have been very challenging for our HR team due to managing furlough and supporting staff working from home, whilst working on several initiatives As part of our commitment to enhance The Kennel Club as great place to work for employees, in response to the results of the staff to the value of respect, survey carried out in 2019. we have facilitated training As a result of staff feedback, we have worked “ alongside leading HR consultancy Mercer to create on Equality, Diversity a new job banding structure using market data for comparison. This has allowed us to define a clear framework to ensure that all employee salaries are and Inclusion. aligned to their roles and to create transparency, consistency and fairness in salaries awarded.

In 2020 we launched the oneKC initiative, which included the development and implementation of organisational values. We believe that these values will define our aims for the future; they are Respect, Ownership, Teamwork, Growth, Excellence and Future Focused. This set of behavioural values will help us build a common purpose and improve decision making, as well as help to deliver a stronger framework for recruitment, progression and feedback.

As part of our commitment to the value of respect, we have facilitated training on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. Sessions have been delivered to both The Kennel Club Board and our employees. To establish ourselves as an inclusive and diverse organisation, we will continue to address unconscious bias through training later in the year.

The Kennel Club Annual Report 2020/2021 29 Finance

The Kennel Club is managed in a business-like manner, though it is very much recognised that it is far more than simply a business; it is an institution with an important mission – to make a difference for dogs.

In 2020, The Kennel Club made an operating surplus of £2.933m before depreciation of £1.042m.

Registrations £12.204m

Shows & events £3.937m

Health & welfare £4.209m

Total income Government grant £0.461m 2020 £21.417m Publications £0.251m Canine activities £0.063m

Members £0.293m

Registrations £ 4.840m

Shows & events £4.512m

Health £3.093m Total expenditure 2020 Canine activities £2.546m £18.484m Education £1.940m

External relations £1.555m

30 The Kennel Club Annual Report 2020/2021 The Kennel Club Annual Report 2020/2021 31 Head Office Clarges Street, London W1J 8AB Telephone: 01296 318540

Aylesbury Office Kennel Club House, Gatehouse Way, Aylesbury, Bucks HP19 8DB Telephone: 01296 318540

thekennelclub.org.uk

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