Thursday, June 29, 2006
Minutes of Meeting
Concerning the Inaugural Meeting of the
International Kleine Münsterländer Club (KlM-I)
Meeting place: Hotel Berghof
Almendorfer Str. 1-3
36100 Petersberg-Almendorf
Tel: 0661-967900
FAX: 0661-9679088
Schedule: Saturday, May 20, 2006 Sunday, May 21, 2006
Start: 2:00 p.m. End: 12.00 noon
Agenda:
May 20, 2006
Start: 2:00 p.m.
- Welcome of the guests
The President of the German KlM Club, Mr. Bernd-Dieter Jesinghausen greets the foreign guests and especially the Vice President of the F.C.I. (Fédération Cynologique Internationale) and Honorary President of the VDH (German Kennel Club), Mr. Uwe Fischer. He then introduces himself and the participants at the inaugural meeting.
- Basic goals of the founding initiative
Mr. Jesinghausen gives a quick review of the origins of the breed and the KlM Club in Germany since 1877 and explains the historical developments up until today. Today, the Kleine Münsterländer is appreciated by hunters as a competent versatile hunting dog. The KlM Club has about 5,000 members and registers about 1,000 puppies annually in the breed book. This makes the club the third largest pointing dog breed club in Germany.
Organization of hunting dogs in Germany
The different breeds are supervised by breed clubs which keep a stud book of the breed. The authority for this thus lies with the breed clubs. Two umbrella organizations (the VDH and the JGHV–Jagdgebrauchshundverband) standardize the judging: the VDH for judging breed standards and the JGHV for the judging of performance utility. Furthermore, the JGHV determines the basic test regulations for all pointing dog breeds and thereby creates comparable test results. In addition, the breed clubs can create supplementary breed-specific test regulations.
Organization of the KlM Club:
The KlM Club consists of 16 largely independent regional clubs (“Landesgruppen”), which have between 100 and 600 members. The central standards and rules of the national club (Bundesverband) must, however, be observed. The Executive Board consists of President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and Breed Warden. The keeper of the breed book, the press secretary, the chairperson of the breed commission and the chairperson of the honorary council are added to the executive committee. Five working groups deal with the individual special fields, one of which is the working group International Contacts whose chairperson is Dr. Jürgen Böhm.
Each Landesgruppe independently conducts tests and breed shows. In the Spring, natural ability tests are held for the young dogs from the previous year. At these tests, natural abilities are evaluated; performance is tested first in the Fall at the HZP. The master test is the VGP which tests 24 subjects over 2 days. In addition, there are many special tests, for example in the area of search. Once a year the KlM club organizes a national test (Bundesprüfung) at which the best dogs from all of the Landesgruppen, as well as from abroad, are to be tested. Usually, a national breed show is held in conjunction with the national test and is conducted using the rules of the F.C.I. and the VDH.
From the German perspective, the goals of an international organization are:
- Uniform standards ensure the breed foundations and thereby humane hunting with our KlM as well.
- The health of the breed will be stabilized as broadly as possible.
- The performance and utility of the KlM will be secured and enhanced.
- Pedigree breeding with the KlM can be better controlled and further developed than before.
In order to achieve these goals, all need a shared exchange of experiences, improved information for breeders and handlers, better cooperation in international breeding as well as the importing and exporting of KlM. Jointly held events for consultation in questions of breeding, testing, organization and training are important. A common international breed book or register with minimum standards of the KlM breed would be a great step forward on the way to a shared future. On this path we need a strong international partner: the F.C.I. This organization is offering us a cooperation agreement, the signing of which is strongly recommended.
This weekend, the organizational, personnel and financial requirements should be discussed and decided upon if possible. The Annual Meeting of the KlM-D Club has already decided to make available start-up capital of 10,000 Euro for the development of the international club. As a basis for future international work, Mr. Jesinghausen wishes many years of good personal contacts, constructive discussions and friendly collaboration.
- Experiences with the founding of global associations of other breed clubs
Mr. Fischer reports that Germany is the only country in the world in which the authority for breeding lies in the hands of the breed clubs. This appears to him to be the best system, because a breed club is in a much better position to establish rules which preserve and improve a breed than a higher level body.
Already in 1992 other breed clubs established international clubs which was received with skepticism at first by the F.C.I. After great difficulties in the beginning, cooperation agreements between F.C.I. and interested clubs are possible today, but only if the breed’s country of origin creates the international club. In the cooperation agreement, the international guarantee of the required performance characteristics and the health standards for a breed are defined.
The KlM too must be a global player in the future, in order to manage the challenges of the years ahead. A willingness to compromise is one of the most important requirements for an international club.
Mr. Fischer reports of positive experiences in other international clubs with important success in the area of health (blue Dobermann). Breed evaluations are a good means of help for experienced breeders, but they are not an instrument to manage the breed. He explains the limits of the breed evaluation using the example of the experiences in the fight against HD in the Hovawart breed.
An international breed book is endorsed by Mr. Fischer, but only in agreement with KlM-I.
Mr. Eising asks about the possibility for an American club to receive F.C.I. recognition through membership in the international club. Tom McDonald will speak to the AKC in the U.S.A. Mr. Fischer promises that this probably can be solved.
Hereafter, the individual representatives introduce their clubs.
France:
Bernard Brenuchon reports that the SCC is the umbrella organization and the CU the sub-organization for hunting dogs, whereas the umbrella organization directs all clubs and keeps a central breed book. His club has 393 members, KlM, GM and DL. In 2005, 370 KlM puppies, 1 GM puppy and 22 DL puppies were registered. Almost 95% of the puppies are delivered to hunters.
The Netherlands:
Cor Bottenheft reports that the Dutch Heidewachtel club was founded 60 years ago. The Dutch Kennel Club keeps the breed book in which all puppies with a pedigree are entered. Today the Heidewachtel club has about 1,100 members. About 225 puppies are bred annually, about 50% for hunters.
As a performance review, there is a natural ability test, at which non-hunting KlMs can also be tested.
Sweden:
Thomas Oloffson passes out a few member magazines of his club and explains that he is new to the club and has a lot to learn. In Sweden there is also an umbrella club for all breeds, which also establishes the rules. In addition, there are small organizations, which normally look after several breeds. His organization is in charge of DK, Viszla, GM and KlM. The club has 2,700 members, of which 500 are KlM. About 200 KlM puppies are registered annually. There are indeed no binding rules for breeding, but tests for performance comparisons are offered.
Switzerland:
Urs Hoppler reports that the SKG is the umbrellas organization which also issues pedigrees. His club, the SKMV, has existed for 80 years. Today it has about 235 members, an increase of about 20 per year. There were 17 puppies in Spring 2006 and probably 23 puppies for the entire year 2006. The demand for KlM cannot be covered in Switzerland. 95% of the Kleine Münsterländer are used in hunting. As animal protection laws in Switzerland prohibit tests with living animals, there are only tests like the Btr, VPS and tracking.
Denmark:
Henrik Raae Andersen reports that his club has existed since 1968 and has about 800 members today. About 200-300 KlM puppies are registered annually. HD is examined and about 95% of the examined KlM are either free from HD or borderline cases at the most.
USA:
Tom McDonald reports that his club was founded 20 years ago. In 1971 the first KlM were imported and the first litter was born in the middle of the 1970’s. Nine years ago, rules were introduced which oriented themselves in large part on the rules of the German club. Hunting tests are conducted, similar to the VJP and HZP. The water work is especially important, as well as drags and pointing. The latter is tested usually on planted feathered game. Tracking isnot tested.
Conformation is awarded on the basis of photos. There are no breed judges in the USA. Size, bite, etc. are checked by veterinarians. An examination for HD is also done in the same way. The American club currently has 370 members and 130 puppies in 2004. A database contains information about approximately 2,400 dogs. Three years ago there was a large survey about health, and the data is accessible to every member of the club. The club issues its own pedigrees.
Austria:
Georg Bellowitsch reports that the breed club was founded in 1938, at that time together with the DL. In 1964 the DL split off, so from this time the breed club looks after the GM and KlM. The club is divided into a national headquarters and three regions (East, South and West) which are relatively independent. The ÖJGV (Österreichischer Jagdgebrauchshundeverein) maintains the breed book. The Münsterländer Club has about 854 members, of which 130 are GM. In the case of KlM, there are about 15-20 litters per year with about 150 puppies. With GM there are 7-9 litters with 70-90 puppies. All puppies are sold only to hunters, as specified in the statutes. Two natural ability tests and three field and water tests are conducted. In addition, there are Btr and special blood tracking tests. Breeding is possible only after passed field-water tests. A national breed show and regional breed shows take place.
The Czech Republic:
Petra Buba notes that all are concerned with the similar questions and problems. His club looks after the long-haired pointing dog breeds (DL, GM and KlM). The club has about 700 members, of whom 220 have DL, 330 KlM and 150 GM. 90-95% of all puppies are sold to hunters. One problem is that the simple hunter has little interest in presenting their dogs at tests and breed shows.
About 20-25 litters with about 150-170 puppies are registered annually. The stud dog must have a VGP and the conformation score SG. HD is tolerated up to level 2, as long as the bitch has level 0.
The Czech test regulations emphasize training, while the German and Austrian test system places greater emphasis on natural abilities.
- Preparation of the formation of an international KlM club (KlM International)
The national clubs represented today represent about 9,500 KlM members and look after about 2,500 puppies annually. This results in an excellent basis for the cooperative development of the KlM breed.
- Questions related to the by-laws
The by-laws presented are discussed in detail and modified in a few points.● Breed and performance level
Mr. Jesinghausen points out that minimum standards must be formulated in order to make an international breed book possible. The following should be regulated:
- Breed standards
- Health of the parent animals
- Minimum performance/utility abilities
In order to be able to define minimum standards, first the standards of the individual countries must be gathered and compared. For this, it is necessary to send the business office of the international club (KlM-I) the following sets of rules, preferably in a German translation:
- Assessment standards for the breed judges
- Health requirements regarding genetic defects
- Testregulations
If the performance levels of all countries joining the international club were compared, then an international test could perhaps be designed.
Also, international support in the education and training of breed judges could make sense.
Date: May 21, 2006
Start: 9.00 a.m.
Opening and greeting by Mr. Jesinghausen.
Mr. Jesinghausen underscores the significance of a common registration of the dogs (breed book), taking into account breed standards, health and minimum requirements for the level of hunting abilities.
Organizational questions
The meeting agrees to coordinate the following activities in the next two years:
- To collect and compare rules relevant to breeding in the member countries
- Comparison of the breed judge qualification and their training and further education. Compare the scope and requirements of the performance tests
- Implementation of a website as a shared information platform (event calendar, requirements for the participation of foreign test participants, etc.)
- Reciprocal attendance of breed shows to match the phenotype
- Preparations for the development of an international breed/register book
Financial questions
- Travel costs will be generally born by the member country!
- For 2006 and 2007 a contribution of 1€ per member/year will be fixed. The contribution is due at the beginning of each calendar year. For 2006 the contribution must be paid by the beginning of 2007 at latest. Payment will be made to an account which must still be opened.
- A budget is to be developed which is to be enacted by the international member meeting
- Thecreationof the international club KlM
- The establishment of an international club with the name „International Kleine Münsterländer Club” is unanimously agreed upon by all of the national KlM clubs represented on the basis of the by-laws modified the day before.
The meeting unanimously elects Bernd-Dieter Jesinghausen (Germany) as President, Cor Bottenheft (Netherlands) and Henrik Anderson (Denmark) as Vice Presidents as well as Dr. Jürgen Böhm (Germany) as Business Manager of the international club KlM, at the suggestion of the President.
- Cooperation agreement with the F.C.I.
In addition to the club by-laws, all founding members signed the presented model cooperation agreement with the F.C.I.
The event was concluded at 11 a.m.
________________________________ _______________________
Bernd-Dieter Jesinghausen Marion Hartung
President Secretary of the Minutes