White boxer and standard change: update

Following numerous requests for clarification, we present this note of interpretation of a recent news that appeared on the official website of the Boxer Klub in Munich: www.bk-muenchen.de/cms/aktuelles/index.php3 whose Italian translation is published on the website of the Boxering.

About a year ago the general assembly of the BK had decided on the inclusion of white colour in the standard, subjecting it to the outcome of an experimental phase in breeding of 25 pairs with a white parent. The research should have extended to the third generation.

In the following months, there were inter-relations between the head of the kennel and the chairman of the BK and the V-HR Committee, which resulted in substantial nothing.

This is not surprising: the stakes fixed by the BK - already very restrictive - required health and character analysis of the litters up to the third generation, increased by the audiometric test. Moreover, the subjects born from these matings would not have been regularly enrolled in the genealogical register of the breed, but only in the Lir, deriving from subjects out of standard. It is clear that, under these conditions, the breeders, overburdened with burdens in front of a few honors, have thrown the sponge.

The question of changing the standard is therefore left aside, unless it is re-examined by the general assembly.

We want to explain to our readers and supporters that the difference between breeding in Italy and Germany is substantial and the policy of the Italian Boxer Club is not affected by any change following this decision of the mother country.

In Germany - in fact - only subjects, who exceed the ztp (which consists of morphological assessments, character tests and health tests), get the ability to reproduce. The pedigree is released by the Club.

In Italy, however, any subject born of two pedigree boxers can be in turn registered to the beginnings, whether his parents are beautiful or ugly, balanced or aggressive, healthy or sick. The only absurd, discriminating exception is given by the coloring of the mantle. As is known, the pedigree is not issued by the Club of breed, but by the Enci, which is a private body, which manages under contract granted by the Ministry of Agriculture the genealogical books of the breeds. The Enci has no competence to decide the correct matings in breeding. Moreover, it does not carry out any control on the truthfulness of the data declared by the breeders. Therefore, the exclusion from reproduction of white subjects only is an illegitimate discrimination against which theItalian Boxer Club will continue to fight, as it has always done, even before this parenthesis opened in 2010 by Germany on the possible modification of the standard.

In this respect, namely, with regard to the use of whites in breeding, Italy is autonomous compared to motherpatria, because of the important differences we have described.

As for the return to the standard in full title, we can only put ourselves back to the decisions of the Boxer Klub.

We regret that the Klub in Munich has decided to act in a very unintermediate way, as many of the data, which are missing for a full evaluation of the white colour, have long been in possession of the 'Italian Boxer Club through the evaluation of numerous white subjects in the gatherings, the systematic collection of data provided by the owners and a comparative research on the three colors of the boxer conducted in collaboration with the University of Pisa. The 'Italian Boxer Club is also aware of the results of different pairs with a white parent, until the second generation.

We take the opportunity to invite the boxers, who have made a pair with a white subject to come out in the open, forwarding us photos, health data and any useful information.

It is important to stress that the suspension of the procedure for modifying the standard does not depend on elements in contrast, which emerged during this experimental phase, but only on the difficulty of carrying out a research, which, so set, is not practical in concrete. On the contrary, all the elements collected so far lead to conclude for a substantial equivalence between the different colors of the race both in the health and character, as evidenced also by the acts of a conference that Dr. Chiara Mariti held in Avignon on 26 November 2011 on a university study in which I had the honour to participate.

The text of this note, at my signature, was translated and sent to Boxer Klub in Munich.

Further details on Boxer White visiting the dedicated section on the site .