Husbands have been banned from judging their wives in qualifiers for Crufts in a crackdown on bias.
The Royal Kennel Club has changed rules for gun dog field trials that will prevent spouses from assessing canines belonging to their other half.
Success in the competitions, which are organised by regional gun dog clubs, is one of the conditions for entering the world-renowned dog show.
Retrievers, spaniels, pointers and setters compete at Crufts annually in gun dog classes, where they are assessed on retrieval, agility and obedience.
Judges have long been banned from assessing dogs belonging to their spouses at Crufts itself, and any dogs found to have been judged by their owner’s spouse can be retrospectively disqualified.
However, regional field trials, which can be used to qualify for Crufts, have previously not been subject to the rule.
The Royal Kennel Club said the rule change was necessary to combat “conflicts of interest”, with judges also now prohibited from adjudicating gun dogs belonging to other members of their immediate family or anyone else living at the same address.
The changes were proposed by the North Western Counties Field Trial Association last May at the Royal Kennel Club’s field trials liaison council.
Success at regional events is one of the conditions of entering Crufts – Crufts
The association argued that previous guidance advising that spouses should not judge their partners’ dogs, as “there may be a perception that the partner or spouse had played a role in preparing the dog for competition”, was insufficient.
“The committee of North Western Counties Field Trial Association believe that a new regulation should be included…to prevent the proliferation of this situation in the future,” it said.
The proposal was adopted by the Royal Kennel Club on Feb 2 and now applies to all gun dog field trials, except when judges are appointed in an “emergency”.
Ryan Kay, of FarlaVale Gundogs, told The Shooting Times that the changes would “help to add clarity for handlers, judges and gun dog clubs alike”.
Gun dog field trials are usually held in winter and are designed to “resemble, as closely as possible, a day’s shooting in the field and dogs are expected to work with all manner of game, from rabbits and hares, to partridges and pheasant”.
A number of individual gun dog clubs have previously issued their own bans on judges assessing their spouse’s dog.
Whippet Miuccia won Best In Show at last year’s Crufts – Anthony Devlin
“It is not acceptable to run under a partner, spouse or cohabitant at a trial, as there may be perception that this person has played a role in preparing the dog for competition,” the Central Scotland Gundog Club’s regulations read.
A Royal Kennel Club spokesman said no official competitions were allowed to have judges assessing their spouse’s dog.
“The regulation over Field Trials in respect of judges and spouses is an expansion of the conflict of interest regulations which appear in all other disciplines – so this was just aligning the position for consistency,” the spokesman said.
“There are no licensed Kennel Club competitions where it would be permissible for judges to judge their spouses’ dogs and regulations are in place to support the position.
“The Royal Kennel Club has a presiding commitment towards a fair and even playing field in all its licenced canine activities. Decisions need to be made in the best interest of the sport, and so that there is trust and confidence for those participating.
“That includes ensuring that conflicts of interest are managed and there is therefore a raft of regulations in all the licenced activities to assist both competitors and judges to avoid or minimise conflicts of interest arising inadvertently.”
Crufts takes places at the NEC in Birmingham between March 5 and March 8.