WE ARE A CHAMPIONSHIP BREED!!!!!!!!!!!

[Dr. Cris Bird]

Thank you so much, Cristy! Your posts are always so informative and interesting...I guess it will be up to all of us to keep an eye on the way things are going, so we don't find ourselves in trouble.

Your breed chair will order a report from Lesley Hart about the beginning of June every year for the next 3 years -- the period of probationary championship. It's a good idea to look at the registration statistics at that time and consider whether you need to say anything about them in the annual breed progress report.

Right now the nondomestic source breeds are fortunate to have a vice president (Bobbie Tullo) and two directors that I know of (Jay Bengal and Kristine Alessio) who are present at all board meetings and can address any questions that arise and make sure there are no misunderstandings at board meetings.

It is quite important to have directors who understand the breeds.

 

[Pam Flachs]

Thank you for that information, Cristy!

This should be required knowledge for all breeders, and yes, we are very fortunate with the people we have on board.

 

[Patti]

Although the statistics Cristy posted are accurate, they are also somewhat misleading as stand alone figures. Having written the Savannah Breed report for the past several years I can tell you that the number of A Savannah cats and the number of N Savannah cats has decreased each year, while the number of registered SBTs has grown. So for instance, although she notes that there were 489 SVNs registered in 2011, in 2010 there were 175 A SVs registered, and in 2011 only 56 A SVs registered, meaning that the vast majority of Ns in 2011 represent B and C cats who have two Savannah parents and in the case of Cs SV grandparents as well. Remember the N remains for three generations even with SV x SV breeding, so does not necessarily indicate that a lot of breeders are still using outcrosses.

As Cristy says the Savannah is a relatively new breed and you need to look at the overall picture of their history and their trends, not just the numbers from a single year. Remember, we have only had fertile Savannah males readily available for the past 6-7 years - when you take that into consideration I think our SV breeders have done a remarkable job in progressing the breed to where it is today.

I highly doubt TICA would ever consider eliminating the Savannah - it is the fourth most popular breed meaning the fourth highest number of registered cats, making it, if nothing else, a money maker for TICA. This was actually one of the 'selling' points presented to the TICA Board of Directors when we requested they accept the breed for Championship last January.

 

[Dr. Cris Bird]

Although the statistics Cristy posted are accurate, they are also somewhat misleading as stand alone figures.

I did not intend to mislead, and I truly don't feel that I did mislead. The figures were appropriate in the context of the current discussion. I would not have taken the time to reproduce them here otherwise. I used an excerpt from an actual breed statistics report reviewed by the directors. I provided the excerpt so that people could see what the directors see.

Seeing what the directors see. That's important.

One reason I included numbers from three average size domestic breeds was to show the difference in their size compared to the Savannah. The sheer number of registrations contributed to TICA is important. It certainly is.

Nonetheless, the discussion was about nonpermissible outcrosses -- why TICA allows them and how they are evaluated. In particular we were talking about breeding cats descended from more than one nondomestic species. If you look at the by-laws at TICA's mission statement and if you look in the Registration Rules at the sections on nondomestic source breeds, you can see where they draw the line in the sand.

When the Savannah came on the scene, remember that TICA declared a moratorium on nondomestic source breeds. The Savannah at first was sitting in limbo. TICA was not sure if they wanted to allow any more such breeds at all, *despite* the fact that the Bengal had been a success from a purely financial pov.

When the moratorium was lifted, it was because a new set of rules had been put into place. Among other things, the nondomestic source breeds were forced to accept going directly to category 1 at championship. That happened -- so they tell me -- precisely because the directors felt the line in the sand was being crossed in the early 2000s.

It is not over. The nondomestic source breeds are much more closely scrutinized than domestic breeds, and there is a reason for that. Other rule changes are possible. Penalties are possible up to and including dissolving breeds altogether.

Solveig Pflueger has said she would not support any breed that continues to use more than one nondomestic species, and she is not the only PTB in TICA who feels that way.

So, be careful. As I said, it's not one set of numbers you have to worry about. It's the trend that is most important. But it does matter.

 

[KMcgown]

Great stuff! Thanks so much Dr Bird for the info!