Currently, the Irish Setter Club of America (ISCA) is conducting a vote with its members on whether or not the ISCA should reinstate reciprocal registration of Irish Setters from the Field Dog Stud Book (FDSB). To understand the impact of a vote for or against reciprocal registration it is important to review the history and reasons for the ban on March 11, 1975. Committees for and against the reciprocal registration have presented very lengthy and thoughtfully researched papers on their positions and have presented them to the ISCA members for their vote. This article will summarize their arguments so that the Irish Setter enthusiast may decide for themselves what they believe would be in the best interest of the Irish Setter breed.
Breeders recognized with the ISCA are required to follow certain criteria as well as sign an ethical agreement. Breeding is a serious undertaking and not done just merely because someone has a male and female and the desire to experience breeding and whelping puppies. Pedigrees, health issues, and reasons for breeding are carefully considered by the breeder. Breeders ask the questions of goals and purpose of the breeding.
Upon the creation of the ISCA in 1891, a set of standards was written and adopted with only some minor revisions throughout the years. During the early years, Irish Setters were commonly registered both with the AKC and the FDSB. The Irish Setter as a sporting breed has competed since the 19th century in field trials. It has been suggested that with the inception of the Llewellin English Setter and their great speed that many of the Irish Setters had lost their competitive edge in field trials. The tipping point came with the introduction of a major change in field trials with the use of hunting on horseback and the 1932 change of AKC “field trial rules requiring a dog to win 10 points in competition at approved trials in order to be a Field Champion.”1 Greater speed and distance was critical for the Irish Setter to be competitive.
In the 1950s, Ned LeGrande conducted extensive research on the possibility of cross breeding the Irish Setter with the English Setter to restore the sporting abilities of the Irish Setter. LeGrande had contacted The American Field/Field Dog Stud Book and received their support for his project. The restoration project stated that after “three generations bred pure after a cross breeding [of only with other setter breeds], the fourth could be registered as an Irish Setter, having no more than 6.25% of the total genetic makeup of a dog so registered.”2 It is important to note the cross breeding policy does not allow for any non-setter breed to be bred to an Irish Setter. The fourth generation of the cross breed Irish Setters were eligible for registry in the Irish Setter Registry of the FDSB and with the American Kennel Club, AKC, through reciprocity.
The ISCA banned reciprocal registration of FDSB dogs in 1975 because of the concern that there were abuses to the plan and that there were puppies being registered that may not have been following the guidelines. In a recent AKC meeting, “The North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association (NAVHDA) has requested that its organization be added to the list of domestic registries with pedigrees acceptable for AKC registration.” 2 The dilemma is that since NAVHDA accepts FDSB dogs in its registry that these dogs would gain registry by the ISCA through a “back door.” As a result, the issue of reciprocal registration has resurfaced and it is time for the ISCA membership to decide what is in the best interest of the Irish Setter breed.
The ISCA members against the reciprocal registration with NAVHDA or FDSB argue that even though there have been advances in DNA testing that the tests are not 100% accurate and therefore there is no way to determine if there are any abuses in the registry of these dogs.
The ISCA members to rescind the ban on reciprocal registrations state that DNA testing can certify parentage and therefore pedigree integrity is not an issue. They further state that the benefits of increasing our gene pool could promote health and diversity of the breed. It is further stated that the AKC does have guidelines for all other breeds on reciprocal registration with the FDSB and that those guidelines could be used for the Irish Setter breed.
The membership is currently casting their votes on the reciprocal registration with NAVHDA and FDSB. When a decision is made the outcome will be posted in a future article.
The next article will examine the question of performance versus standard. Can the two converge to maintain the integrity of the breed standard?
Suggested Reading:
NRSFTC Archives – LeGrande Articles. http://www.nrsftc.com/history.htm
Vanacore, Connie. The Official Book of the Irish Setter. T.F.H. Publications, Inc. 2001
The American Kennel – DNA Certification Program. http://www.akc.org/dna/certify.cfm
1 ISCA Advocacy Committee for Maintaining 1975 Ban. The Advcacy Paper for Maintaining the Ban on Reciprocal Registration. 2008
2 Reciprocal Registration Committee. The Advocacy Paper for Reinstating Reciprocal Registration. 2008