Dear Members,
The 60-day period for public comment ended regarding the revision to include the undocked tail in our breed standard. We would like to take this opportunity to share with you a recap of where this process started, the progression to where we are today, and the next steps.
The English Springer Spaniel Field Trial Association (ESSFTA) Breed Standard Revision Committee was established by the President at the April 2022 annual board meeting. The committee was tasked with addressing the proposed language to include the undocked (natural) tail in the breed standard. The Board approved moving forward with submitting the proposed revision to AKC.
To date, the Committee submitted a proposed breed standard language revision to the American Kennel Club (AKC), which conducted an initial review and worked with the committee to ensure all formatting and specific language within the breed standard is appropriately addressed. The final proposed revision was subsequently published in the AKC Gazette allowing for a 60-day public comment period. The AKC has been in ongoing communication with the Committee regarding any public comments which are opposed to the proposed revision. The 60-day public comment period concluded at the end of October and the AKC staff prepared a memo for the November AKC Board meeting at which they granted approval to the ESSFTA to ballot the ESSFTA membership.
Next Steps - Since AKC granted the ESSFTA approval to ballot the membership, this will be done in accordance with the ESSFTA Constitution and Bylaws.
- However, there are several steps before the ballots can be sent to the membership, they are:
- ESSFTA is required to submit a sample ballot and letter to AKC for review, therefore the Committee is in the process of developing the letter and ballot for AKC review.
- Once approval to proceed is given by AKC, a letter and ballot will be provided to the membership with a deadline for the membership to return the ballots to the ESSFTA.
Currently, we anticipate sending out the ballot to membership in January 2023.
- The ESSFTA is required to submit the ballot results, the ballot with cover letter, and the proposed revised standard to the AKC.
- If the ballot results are sufficient to support the revision to the standard, the AKC will schedule the revision for inclusion on the AKC Board agenda for approval. The approved standard will be published on the Secretary’s Page and the club will receive written notification of the final approval.
- If the proposed revision does not receive enough votes to support approval of the revision, the ESSFTA will notify the AKC staff of the tabulated results.
The Proposed language change to add “undocked tail “to the English Springer Spaniel Breed Standard as published in the AKC Gazette:
Note: when this committee was created, we were asked to make minimal changes and to be clear about the docked and undocked tail. Some edits were done due to discussions with AKC.
Blue text indicates the changes; added text and strikethrough is the deleted text.
General Appearance: The English Springer Spaniel is a medium sized sporting dog with a compact body and a docked or undocked tail; both are to be given equal consideration.
Neck, Topline, Body [only edit this part of the section]
The croup slopes gently to the set of the tail, and tail-set follows the natural line of the croup. The tail is carried horizontally or slightly elevated and displays a characteristic lively, merry action, particularly when the dog is on game. A clamped tail (indicating timidity or undependable temperament) is to be faulted, as is a tail carried at a right angle to the backline in Terrier fashion. An undocked tail may have a slight upward curve but never curled over the back.
Coat: The Springer has an outer coat and an undercoat. On the body, the outer coat is of medium length, flat or wavy, and is easily distinguishable from the undercoat, which is short, soft, and dense. The quantity of undercoat is affected by climate and season. When in combination, outer coat and undercoat serve to make the dog substantially waterproof, weatherproof, and thorn proof. On ears, chest, legs, and belly the Springer is nicely furnished with a fringe of feathering of moderate length and heaviness. On the head, front of the forelegs, and below the hock joints on the front of the hind legs, the hair is short and fine. The coat has the clean, glossy, "live" appearance indicative of good health. It is legitimate to trim about the head, ears, neck, and feet, to remove dead undercoat, and to thin and shorten excess feathering as required to enhance a smart, functional appearance. The tail may be trimmed or well fringed with and may have wavy feathering. Above all, the appearance should be natural. Over-trimming, especially the body coat, or any chopped, barbered, or artificial effect is to be penalized in the show ring, as is excessive feathering that destroys the clean outline desirable in a sporting dog. Correct quality and condition of coat is to take precedence over quantity of coat
Considerations: The undocked (natural) tail dogs are also good examples of the breed and should be allowed to compete equally in conformation. This change will provide clarification within the ESS breed standard and will assist conformation judges in understanding how to judge an undocked tail vs. a docked tail because the current standard states this breed “…has a docked tail.” An increasing number of English Springer Spaniels are shown with tails and imported with natural tails by both field and bench owners. In addition, some U.S. breeders are choosing to keep the natural tail and not dock tails.
Animal Rights (AR) concerns: There are many discussions and opinions about the possibility of legislation to ban tail docking and that this change in our breed standard could trigger such a change. Because this is a concern for all of us, the committee discussed how likely it would be that this change could trigger or empower a law change to ban tail docking. We did some research and found that the docked tail issue is not on the AR’s list of priorities. Animal rights activists work to protect animals from neglect, harm, and to reduce suffering. Their priorities appear to focus on the control of businesses that use animals, reporting abuse, and encouraging people to become vegan to eliminate animals as food, etc. We did not find information where ‘tail docking’ is mentioned as a focus by any of these groups. Over the last twenty years, other parent clubs in the United States have changed their standard to allow natural tails, and to date we did not find evidence that legislation was brought forward in response to their changes. It does not appear that changing our standard would give any group motivation or power to pursue the ban of docking tails.
We also discovered that the legal process to create a bill and for it to become law is quite lengthy and complicated. We encourage you to do your own research, read, and come to your own conclusion as to the likeliness that the wording change would have impact. Following are some links describing the legal process to introduce and pass a bill.
www.congress.gov/help/learn-about-the-legislative-process/how-our-laws-are-made
https://www.usa.gov/how-laws-are-made
www.house.gov/the-house-explained/the-legislative-process
