AKITA CLUB OF AMERICA, INC.
from Lonny Cohen, ACA President
Report from The World Akita Congress in Milan
July 8, 2000

Summary
The 3rd World Akita Congress was held in Milan, Italy on Friday, June 23, 2000. Delegates from approximately 20 countries were present. The Japan Kennel Club hosted the meeting. The purpose of the meeting was to establish the World Union of Akita Clubs. Each delegate was asked to report upon the progress of splitting the breed in his or her country. During the discussion about the purpose of the World Union, it was stated by JKC officials that this Union was to discuss the Japanese Akita only. Several delegates from European countries stated loudly that only clubs that have split the breed should be allowed to join the Union. After a break for discussion, the delegate body overruled the JKC position and voted that clubs that had not split the breed could not join. JKC did state, however, that those clubs were welcome to observe.

Minutes:

The meeting was called to order, and a roll call of the attending delegates was read. Mr. Hoshi was introduced as the new president of the Japan Kennel Club. The floor was opened to questions.

Belgium: Does the JKC consider the two breeds to be equivalent?

JKC: JKC considers the Country of Origin of both breeds to be Japan, and the Country of Development of the GJD to be America.

England: How are the breeds being split?

JKC: Three judges or experts will decide if the dog is an Akita or a GJD. The pedigree will be changed to reflect the name GJD. If the 3 experts cannot decide, JKC will send an expert.

England: In Spain, only 1 man is assessing 3000 dogs. JKC: We will check what procedures are being followed. If there is a problem, we will take proper procedures.

England: Based on appearance or pedigree?

JKC: Most important are the qualities, then pedigree, and the breeding direction.

Holland: Has split the breed based on appearance. There is a problem now because of 67 dogs, 51 were categorized as GJD. This leaves very few Akitas for the breeders.

Finland: In Finland, 30 dogs were evaluated. Auto-immune diseases have cut down on their breeding stock of Akitas.  They have begun an open registry to combat these problems.

Norway: Only breeders and those who show dogs have had their dogs evaluated.

Denmark: A letter was sent to Akita owners, but there were only 7 GJD, as most GJD are older and their owners did not bother. They want a health committee to fight diseases.

Sweden: Evaluated 169 dogs. 86 were GJD, and 83 were Akitas. Everyone is very pleased. Next year they hope to have a special show. There are less than 10 Akita breeders in the country.

Germany: A special judge evaluates all breeders. There are no GJD in Germany.

France: A judge must evaluate the dogs before they are bred. There are 10 GJD in the country. They have been placed in Group 5, not in Group 2.

Holland: They have had two assessments. In the first, 76 dogs were evaluated and 51 were GJD. In the second, just 5 dogs were evaluated as GJD. The Akita population is very small, and there are many problems with these dogs.

Belgium: They used 3 judges to evaluate the dogs, and 4 observers. Of 48 dogs evaluated, 33 were Japanese Akitas, 10 were GJD, and 5 were of an intermediate type, not fit to breed, and their pedigree was cancelled.

Austria: They are having problems, as breeders are not coming to the evaluations. So far there are 4 GJD, 4 Akitas. Others are doing mixed breedings and at this time are still getting registration papers. They are represented by a Nordic breed club, which has 2 Akita breeder members. The owners of American Akitas dropped out of the club.

Czech Republic: 217 dogs have been assessed, 157 Akitas and 60 GJD. They will have evaluations 3 times a year, but there is a poor turnout.

Hungary: They have about 2700 dogs, approximately 10% of which were classified as GJD. They noted that they need better education of Akita judges.

Poland: In Poland there is no Akita club, it is a Spitz club. There are 4 committees to assess dogs, but less than 25% came. Many are interbred and have problems, and the breeders don’t know what to do. They had gotten no information about the World Congress until friends in Germany and Scandinavia told them about it.

England: In England the breed is not split. They support health records access to be handed out. They also support judge’s education.

Brazil: The split is moving along at a good pace, there are 2000 Akitas and about 10 GJD. Breeders fill out a form and include two photos, and a new pedigree is sent out reflecting the name GJD.

Mexico: There is little interbreeding done now. Most of the dogs are GJD, but more Akitas are being imported.

Italy: Almost all the dogs are Akitas, about 30 GJD. There are no GJD breeding kennels. 100 dogs have been confirmed as Akitas, with 2 as GJD. The evaluation is based on type. They need more time to complete the split. At this time, if the parents of a litter are not confirmed as one breed or the other, the puppy’s registration is frozen. They have many eye and skin disease problems.

Canada: Not an FCI country. They have no official position on the breed split. Of the 4500 registered Akitas in the country, less than 5% are of the Japanese type.

US: Also not an FCI country. Last summer a straw poll was conducted and 57% of the membership was not interested in pursuing a breed split at that time. We are now in a cooling off period, according to the recommendation of AKC. We do not know when or if the issue will be brought up again. We would also support health studies.

JACA: Gets no help from either ACA or AKC. Would like more cooperation from the JKC in regard to selling dogs to the US for crossbreeding. If they (JKC) are against this, why are dogs being sold to those who intend to crossbreed them?

JKC response to questions: As far as the problem with Groups in France, that will be resolved at a meeting in Poland in the autumn. JKC can help those countries having problems splitting with pedigree support. In Hungary, 80% of dogs are mixed type, but no more interbreeding is allowed as of 1/1/00. Now only those categorized as either Akita or GJD can be bred. Those 80% cannot be bred. If the type is correct, however, those that are 75% pure will be registered. In Austria, breeders will not have their dogs evaluated and are still breeding mixed dogs. The JKC stated that there is a great difference in appearance between the Akita and the GJD but the present standards are very similar. Therefore the standards will be revised to reflect the great physical difference between the breeds.  They would like the standards defined to describe the dogs more accurately.

Formation of the World Union

JKC stated that the World Union of Akita Clubs would be responsible for the quality and health of Akitas, and would also define description in the standard and work to educate judges. The main office of the WUAC will be in Japan.

A question was asked, requesting that a health committee be put into place as one of the World Union’s purposes. After some discussion, this was agreed to. It was stated that the European Akitas have many health problems and those countries want help and cooperation to solve them. Dr. Sophia clarified for the JKC the differences between structurally sound dogs and genetically healthy dogs, i.e. dogs that did not carry autoimmune or eye diseases.

The World Union will meet every 2 years. It will include a judging demonstration with 5-6 dogs to have a hands-on seminar to show judges how to judge the Japanese Akita.

Canada asked if the World Union also included GJD (American Akitas). JKC responded no, this union was for the protection of the Japanese Akita only. England, Canada, and the US were invited to join because they do have those dogs in their countries. At this point the delegates from Germany and Belgium stood up and stated loudly that they felt that only countries that have split the breed should be allowed to join the World Union. With many outcries, the JKC called a recess to discuss the matter. After a period of about 10 minutes, the FCI countries in attendance voted unanimously that only those countries that have two breeds could join the World Union. JKC noted that countries that have not split the breed are welcome as observers. 10 countries joined immediately, with 6 others stating they would join but needed Board approval. They would get that approval within 3 months.

Further discussion followed about dues ($300 USD per year, waived the first year) and the makeup of the officers and board of directors of the World Union.  Mr. Kariyabu was named President of the Union. The remaining officers and directors of the union were chosen from those countries that joined immediately. A number of countries could not join immediately because they had to report to their boards in order to obtain a decision on joining. These countries agreed to make a decision on joining within three months. There was a discussion on establishing an interim board, but it was decided to start with a Board of the members who joined at the Congress.