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The well known and much loved BBC 1 TV programme "Country File" had a special feature about Vulnerable British and Irish dog breeds on Sunday 24th February. Organised by the British and Irish Dog Breeds Preservation Trust the BBC filmed a total of 15 different breeds, representing the bottom 15 on the list of Vulnerable Breeds.
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©Gordon Ralphs |
Three breeds were selected to be specially featured: the Otterhounds doing man tracking, a group of Irish Water Spaniels retrieving from a lake and a team of working Glen of Imaal Terriers performing rat clearance barn work. The Glen of Imaal Terrier is officially Britain & Irelands' rarest breed for 2007 with just 36 puppies being registered at the UK Kennel Club and has been the subject of extensive media interest recently.
The item was filmed at Cotswold Farm Park, near Cheltenham, which is owned by Country File presenter Joe Henson. Back in 1973, Joe was the founder chairman of The Rare Breeds Survival Trust. The farm is famed for its many rare breeds of livestock, so was the perfect venue. The BBC presenter for the item is Miriam O'Reilly, whose credits include Farming Today, Costing the Earth, File on 4 and is a Country File regular.
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 ©Gordon
Ralphs
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Filming took place on Tuesday 12th February 2008 on a beautiful sunny winter's day and the breeds that were filmed by the BBC are as follows (2007 registration totals in brackets):
Glen of Imaal Terrier (36): Skye Terrier (37): Otterhound (41): Sussex Spaniel (61): Smooth Collie (63): Sealyham Terrier (65): Field Spaniel (67): Welsh Corgi (Cardigan) (68): Irish Red & White Setter (93): Manchester Terrier (113): Dandie Dinmont Terrier (124): Norwich Terrier (128): Lancashire Heeler (146 ): Irish Water Spaniel (162 ): Clumber Spaniel (223):
Paul Keevil, Press Officer for the Trust said: "The response from our vulnerable breeds when I requested volunteers was outstanding. The Irish Water Spaniels brought a team of 14 trained dogs and many owners came down the night before the filming having travelled hundreds of miles at their own expense to attend. I have nothing but praise for their commitment to the Vulnerable Breeds Project and, with such enthusiastic and dedicated owners, the future looks bright. What I find so exciting about this BBC project is that the programme is aimed fairly and squarely at country folk and the working abilities of our traditional breeds was stressed and demonstrated, along with the fact that we are adapting our dog breeds to life in the 21st century."
If you miss the show or live overseas, this programme will be available for the next seven days following the broadcast, on the BBC website from their new "i player" service:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/
Questions:
Paul Keevil
Press & Media Officer
British and Irish Dog Breeds Preservation Trust
Pepper Dog Place, 40 Plough Road,
Dormansland, Lingfield, Surrey. RH7 6PS. U.K.
tel: 01342 836 240 - fax: 01342 836 218
mob: 07971 913 711 - Skype - paul.keevil1
e-mail: paul.keevil@btinternet.com - web: www.nativebreeds.org.uk/
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TEN THINGS YOU NEVER KNEW ABOUT THE NATIVE BRITISH & IRISH VULNERABLE BREEDS
1. The Kennel Club presently recognises 207 breeds, of which 63 are of British or Irish origin. 25 of these breeds had less that 300 puppies registered at the Kennel Club in 2007 and are therefore classified as being "Vulnerable".
2. The Dandie Dinmont Terrier is the only breed of dog to be named after a fictional character. "Dandie Dinmont" was a hill farmer in the novel 'Guy Mannering', written by Sir Walter Scott and published in 1814. (78 registered in 2006)
3. Several Vulnerable Breeds take their names from regions or places in the British Isles and Ireland: Manchester Terrier, Norwich Terrier, Cardigan Welsh Corgi, Glen of Imaal Terrier, Kerry Blue Terrier, Skye Terrier, Sussex Spaniel, Lancashire Heeler and from Clumber Park in Nottingham, the Clumber Spaniel.
4. The Manchester Terrier is the only breed of dog ever to receive a "Royal Warrant", which it did for rat catching from Queen Victoria. (113 registered in 2007)
5. Irish Water Spaniel is the only surviving Water Spaniel breed in the British Isles. They were bred to retrieve game from water for Wildfowlers in the marshes and bogs of Ireland, hence their nickname of 'bogdogs'.
6. Both the Smooth Collie and the Irish Terrier were used in World War I as a message carriers in the trenches. (63 Smooth Collies in 2007 - 271 Irish Terriers registered in 2007)
7. The Welsh Corgi (Cardigan) in its native Welsh language has been called Ci Llathaid, meaning that it is a yard long, from the tip of its nose to the tip of its tail. (68 registered in 2007)
8. Britain and Irelands' rarest breed in 2007 was the Glen of Imaal Terrier, which registered just 36 puppies at the Kennel Club.
9. Undoubtedly the most famous Skye Terrier was Greyfriars Bobby who kept a silent vigil at his master's grave at Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh for 14 years. When Disney remade the film in 2006, there were so few Skye Terriers about that a Westie was cast in the starring role of "Bobby". (37 Skyes registered in 2007)
10 A retired army Captain developed the Sealyham Terrier on his estate at Sealy Ham in Wales. He mixed several breeds together in his quest to produce a perfect terrier including some of the vulnerable breeds, the Wire Fox Terrier, Dandie Dinmont and Corgi.
The above is copyrighted to Paul Keevil
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