According to England’s The Kennel Club, the fate of the English setter hangs in the balance. Evidently the noble bird dog has fallen out of favor with Brits.
The Kennel Club is both the country’s, as well as the world’s, oldest recognized governing body for canine activities. One of its missions is the national register of pedigree which ensures proper breeding practices. When registrants fall below 300 for the year, the organization considers the breed to be at the risk of extinction. Founded in 1873 The Kennel Club maintains records of all registered breeds in England.
While the English setter is-popular in the United States it’s numbers are imperiled in Great Britain.
The English setter first landed on the endangered list in 2011 when only 265 pups were registered. A wave of optimism came the following year when 347 registrations posted a 25 percent increase. Since then English setter numbers have hovered around 300 until they dropped in 2017 to a record low of 261 pups. Other dogs in jeopardy are the Gordon setter and the Irish Red and White setter.
The impact of celebrity-owned pets is considered to be a major reason for the English setter’s fall from grace. When socialite Paris Hilton was featured with her handbag Chihuahua, The Kennel Club reported registration increases of more than 6,000 dogs. Other reasons cited are reduced numbers of bird hunters.
But celebrity dog fashion doesn’t account for the reason that English setters, Gordon setters, Irish Red and White setters, English cockers and British-bred Labrador retrievers are thriving in the United States. The cultural difference may be a tremendous factor as to why foreign sporting dog breeds are thriving here across the pond.
Public hunting is the hallmark of American sporting society, and when hunters have access to large amounts of public land their need for dogs increases. If wild bird hunting isn’t enough, preserve hunting offers state-side hunters an additional opportunity to work dogs on a regular basis.
One of the UK’s native sporting breeds has-fallen-out of favor. So, too, have others.
Hunting in the UK is costly, and access can be difficult to attain thereby rendering the sport to those of privilege. Field trials are on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, but due to the United States’ increased size and population density there are far many more competitions and training events than abroad.
Even so, people’s tastes and preferences have changed over the years. When the American Kennel Club was founded in 1884 only nine purebred breeds were recognized. The Chesapeake Bay Retriever, the Clumber Spaniel, the English, Gordon, and Irish setters, the Irish Water Spaniel, the English pointer, and both the Sussex and Cocker spaniel. In 2017, The American Kennel Club maintained records for 190 different breeds. This represents an increase of 2011 percent of additional dog breeds. An interesting fact is that the AKC does not keep records of vulnerable breeds.
The AKC stated that 2011 was the ‘year of the setters’ and English, Gordons, Irish and Red and Whites increased in popularity. English setter rankings increased from the position of 101st to 87th. It’s 2018 now, so I think I’ll make a personal contribution to that list. In fact, I think I’ll get another setter. Setters are like potato chips. You can’t have just one…
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