Merle Briefing
MERLE BRIEFING/STATEMENT In October 2009 The Joint Breed Liaison Committee representing all six of the UK Bearded Collie Clubs approached the Kennel Club with concerns that the merle gene could be introduced into UK KC registered Bearded Collies via the inclusion in the breed register of so called ‘working bearded collies’ which contain bloodlines from other breeds, most notably Border Collies. Merle, which causes a dappled coat colouration, is a deleterious gene associated with known health problems and not included in the Bearded Collie Breed Standard. It is of particular concern that the merle colouration can be ‘hidden’ resulting in just a small amount of flecking in the eye or very small markings on the ears or tail that can easily be overlooked. In addition some ‘working bearded collies’ are known to suffer from inherited eye disease and MDR-1 mutation as well as epilepsy and other serious health problems, not currently seen in Bearded Collies. The Bearded Collie breed as we know it today was established by Mrs Willison in the late 1940’s. She started with a foundation stock and worked hard to purify the breed into the beginnings of the breed we have to day, a breed that our breeders have refined and nurtured over the years. We are extremely fortunate that we have three of Mrs Willisons kennel maids alive today who can confirm that at no time was the ‘merle’ colour ever associated with the Bearded Collie. We also have a database which contains all the KC registered Beardies going back to 1948 (over 53,000) and none of these have been registered as merle. Furthermore merle has never been included in the KC standard for the breed. After our initial correspondence we were encouraged by the KC’s own geneticist Prof Jeff Sampson to make a formal application to the KC to ban the registration of merle Bearded Collies and those sired or whelped by a merle parent. The KC had recently approved a similar request from the Chihuahua and Bull Terrier breed Clubs due to ‘possible health problems that are associated with this colour’ and because ‘ ….the colour has not hitherto been encountered in the UK…’ In October 2010 the KC turned down our request stating merely that it would ban the registration of offspring of merle to merle matings. Despite an appeal by the Joint Breed Liaison Committee, supported by the oldest and most influential kennels in the breed, and further correspondence with the new KC Chairman Prof Steve Dean, the KC have consistently refused to offer an explanation for their decision. Such is the strength of feeling against the possible introduction of this harmful gene into our breed, the Joint Breed Liaison Committee and the majority of the Bearded Collie kennels have taken the unusual step of running a full page ’ If it’s a Merle it’s not a Bearded Collie’ advertisement in both of the national dog papers. The advert aims to highlight our concerns for the future health of our breed and the illogical way the KC has treated our case. We also wish to express our dismay that the KC has failed to listen to the Breed Clubs and the most senior people in the breed and has refused to answer any of our questions or provide any evidence on which their decision was made. .