Dear friends,

On Thursday (15/3/01) we had a meeting with the German kennel club, some other breed clubs and Prof. Dr. Ziekow, one of the highest qualified and eloquent scientists on administrative law. He painted a very dark picture of our future.
He explained, that the President of Germany had not yet signed the new law, so the it is still not in force. The law forbids the import, breeding and owning of Bull and Terrier breeds. Actually it is forbidden
for a foreigner to visit Germany with his dog.
Prof. Dr. Ziekow told us that we would have eventually a chance to prevent the signing, if a protest note from the Commissioner of the European Commission Mr. David Byrne will arrive before. David Byrne has already requested from Berlin scientific proof that these breeds are dangerous to man and beast. To this date he has not received a reply.
So Prof. Dr. Ziekow urges us to ask ALL breed clubs abroad to send protest notes to Mr. Byrne with the following content:
1) There are so many dogs sold from England to Germany for so many years - and you want to do it in the future.
2) Now the quarantine is over and you want to visit Germany with your dogs for holidays and for shows.
3) The law would be in contrary to all other nations in Europe, who have decided not to agree with the way Germany handled the situation.
4) The Staffordshire Bull Terrier has never have been involved in a bad incident in the UK.
5) Protest against this new law.

Taking this recommendation I ask you to urge ALL English clubs to send a letter with the content above (they all can have the same words, perhaps you can write a uniformed letter) to:

Commissioner of the European Commission
Mr. David Byrne
Rue de la Loi 200
B-1049 Bruxelles
Belgium

Prof. Dr. Ziekow says also that we NEED A COPY of all of these letters.
It is import when we discuss in TV- or newspaper reports and in law suits with judges and politicians. Please send it to me (address below)

Bundespraesident der Bundesrepublik Deutschland
Herrn Johannes Rau
Schloss Bellevue
10557 Berlin
Germany

It is VERY URGENT. Every day counts.

Cross the fingers
Best wishes
Gregor von Dungen

Mr. David Byrne
Rue de la Loi 200
B-1049 Bruxelles
Belgium

27/03/01

Dear Mr. Byrne,

The Officers and Committee of The National Terrier Club are deeply concerned about the introduction of the proposed breed specific “dangerous dog” laws in Germany.

  In fact, our membership is so concerned about this issue that a petition containing approximately 5000 signatures was collected by our members and handed in on behalf of our Club to Prime Minister, Tony Blair, at 10, Downing Street, London, on 19^th December, 2000. This petition stated that:
“We, the undersigned, ask that laws enacted regarding vicious dogs be based upon the behaviour of the individual dog and not upon the breed of the dog. As an alternative to breed-specific legislation we ask that you appropriately sanction, fine and place into prison the PEOPLE responsible for vicious dog attacks. We believe that banning specific breeds/types of dog is NOT the solution to the problem of dogs attacking people, irresponsible ownership is.”

  Our Club has been registered with the Kennel Club since 1903 and is held in high esteem by most true terrier enthusiast’s worldwide, with overseas visitors attending our annual Group Championship shows from Australia, America, Japan and most European countries - including Germany. 

All 26-terrier breeds registered by the UK Kennel Club are scheduled at the show with the Staffordshire Bull Terrier attaining the highest entry every year – in excess of over 300 dogs on a number of occasions.

We have never had any biting incidents at all involving the Bull Breeds at our shows and have seen no evidence to suggest that they are “Dangerous Dogs”.

In fact, the Staffordshire Bull Terrier (SBT) is the only breed of dog registered by the UK Kennel Club, which states that breed is “highly intelligent and affectionate especially with children” as well as “totally reliable” as part of Breed Standard (Characteristics & Temperament clauses) .

The SBT along with all Bull Breeds registered by the Kennel Club are essentially family pets that have committed no crime.

The UK Kennel Club registered breeds that have been persecuted by the German Government (including SBT, Bull Terrier, Bull Mastiff, Mastiff, Neapolitan Mastiff, and Rhodesian Ridgeback) are all well established in the UK, and are certainly not considered to be “fighting dogs” or a threat to public safety by the UK Government.

The SBT, which has been listed as a “category one” breed by the German Government, is one of the most popular breeds of family dogs in the UK and, being the most popular breed of terrier, is widely considered to be an ideal family pet. It is estimated that there are currently over 250,000 pet Stafford’s in the UK.

There is little, if any, evidence of biting incidents, in Germany or the UK, attributable to genuine SBT’s.    

Our Club consists of more than 500 members and our membership have expressed concern about:

1)       The sale of  “category one” dogs from the UK to Germany. Will the proposed new laws contravene any EURO trading laws?

2)       Will our members be allowed to visit Germany with their show dogs? Many of our members who own SBT’s and Bull Terriers feel their rights to travel and show their dogs in mainland Europe would be restricted. This is now of great concern, particularly since quarantine regulations have been lifted.

3)   The law would be in contrary to all other nations in Europe, who have decided not to agree with the way Germany handled the situation. 

Yours sincerely,

Monica Shuttleworth,

Hon Secretary, The National Terrier Club.

Mr David Byrne,
European Commissioner,
Rue de la Loi 200,
B-1049 Bruxelles,
Belgium

With a copies to:

Bundespraesident der Bundesrepublik Deutschland,
Herrn Johannes Rau,
SchlossBellevue,
10557 Berlin,
Germany.

Mr Gregor von Dungen,
Lindenstrasse 37,
72810 Gomaringen,
Germany

THANK YOU