The General Committee made the decision after it received a recommendation from it’s dog health group. This will affect litters born on or after 1st January 2012.
The Kennel Club’s Health and Breeder Services Manager Bill Lambert said, “The Kennel Club wants to ensure that all breeders put the health and welfare of their puppies and breeding bitches first and foremost, and this decision underlines our commitment to this issue. Whilst the law allows bitches to have six litters in a lifetime and our registration system has previously fallen in line with this, the vast majority of responsible breeders feel that this is too high and that there is potential for this to have a negative impact on the welfare of the bitch. Very serious consideration has to be given to the matter if a breeder wishes a bitch to have more than four litters but the Kennel Club may grant permission for this to happen if it believes that there is good and justifiable reason for doing so on a case by case basis.”
The Kennel Club is calling for the standards of the Kennel Club Accredited Breeder Scheme to be made mandatory for all dog breeders.