Page 11 - K9 News - Issue 15 - March2021

reasonable and readily accepted as an essential There are no circumstances on this planet
and integral part of our breeding tool kit.
Additionally, with the availability of special
clinics, with a significantly reduced group rate
available, opportunities to test have always
been good and at a price that is not likely to put
people off.
The charges, of course, are guided and defined
by the BVA and, in the main, whilst not actually
set in concrete, the guidelines have generally
been adhered to. So we all know where we
stand.
However, in these unfortunate times in which we
find ourselves, there are some worrying trends
emerging.
Firstly, and least surprisingly, the availability
has been dramatically reduced. This has, as
one would expect, created a dramatic shortage
of testing opportunities (which has been
exacerbated by an increase in demand created
by the Greeders, who have decided they need
to health test in order to justify their exorbitant
prices!).
This, in turn, has led to a situation where some
vets are now dictating terms and conditions
(both financial and operational) that, under any
other circumstances, people would not only find
totally unacceptable, they would rebel against
them.
One (albeit at the extreme end of the scale)
example I recently came across was a clinic
where a hall with plenty of parking had to be
provided. A minimum of 100 dogs booked to
attend. A testing charge of £50 per dog (The
BVA quoted group rate charge is £43 including
VAT) with a maximum of 2 dogs per person, and
an additional, non-refundable up-front ‘Covid
Security’ fee of £25 for the first dog, and £20 for
the second.
I will leave you to work out the maths.
In addition, the dogs owner would not be
allowed to attend. The dog would be taken
away, tested, and then returned.
K9 NEWS DIGITAL / MARCH 2021
where I would let a dog of mine, especially a
young dog, possibly going for a first-time test, go
off with a complete stranger, to be dragged into
a dark room and have lights shone in his eyes
by another complete stranger. It could put a dog
off for life.
Basically, they have us by the short and curlies.
If you want to get a test done, you have to
do it on their terms. And if you want to breed
(and we, like many, have a long-term breeding
programme that is more than just ‘having
puppies’, and we would really like to maintain it)
then you need to test.
The puppy farmers and the Greeders won’t
care, of course. Many just won’t bother to test
(not that they do anyway) and the rest will just
go with the flow and then charge a bit more
As responsible, ethical breeders, we will not
breed without the full set of essential tools. Our
principles also mean that we will not feed the
system that is currently being presented. If we
feed the greedy ones, they will get greedier.
Things will only get worse. And when life does
eventually return to something that resembles
normal, will what has been created with its
new inflated rates become the normal? Human
nature is such that once the dollar signs have
appeared and a precedent has been set, there
is a reluctance to go back to how things were,
even if the circumstances suggest it is the right
thing to do.
As for us, the solution is very simple. We won’t
breed. There are more important things going on
in the world at the moment and we have put it all
firmly in perspective.
We will review this when things go back to
normal, if they ever do. But, in the meantime,
if people continue to accept this behaviour and
pay the price, eventually we will all be paying
the price.
And then there will be only one winner.
Rant over. You can relax now.
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