Mary Allen
Animal breeding always has to do with evaluation. Kong, on the other hand, is reserved for only a few animal species. It is high time to take a closer look at these facts. Especially with regard to the external effect.
Every breeder aims to breed their animals as close as possible to the applicable breed standard. The standards are usually formulated by the respective standards committees in consultation with the clubs. This has the advantage that the goal is put together and above all recognized by everyone. An important part of this system is the rating system. After all, standards only make sense if they are checked regularly.
The evaluation is carried out in Europe by specially trained judges. As a rule, the training lasts several years – at least three. There are intermediate exams during the training. Only when a theoretical and practical final exam is successful, you can rate pigeons. As is the case everywhere in animal breeding, it is mostly successful breeders who have been breeders for many years who embark on a career as judges. This has the advantage that they can put themselves in the shoes of the animals and the breeder. Of course, the judges rate the pigeons according to the standard. Intensive training is essential when it comes to staying up to date with the many breeds and colors.
Pigeon Fanciers are Not Prize Hunters
The work of the judges is therefore indispensable when it comes to the progress of breeding. It is, therefore, logical to look at other animal breeding associations to see how the system works there. Interestingly, the raters are almost always referred to as judges there as well. This is not a problem for the breeders and the term judge does not have a negative connotation either.
But there are groups of people who see things differently. Above all, the “price” in the name has a negative image for them. They believe that this shows that breeders of pigeons seem to pursue their hobby in order to win prizes with their pigeons. The whole thing sometimes even culminates in the fact that pigeon fanciers are disparaged as price hunters. Apart from the fact that this is not true, one should take a closer look at the designation.
Organized pigeon breeding started out as a way of breeding pigeons to a set standard. In contrast to other animal species, where performance characteristics are much more emphasized, pigeons have always been more of an external character. There’s nothing wrong with that either.
No Approval for Pigeons
Breeders have always wanted to present their results in order to show them to a larger audience. So everything is as it is today. The comparison with the pigeons of other breeders resulted in an order of which pigeon comes closest to the breeding goal. To give the breeder recognition, prizes were awarded. Valuable trophies, for example, are still documents of the importance of animal breeding in the past. This can also be seen from the fact that particularly high-ranking personalities have often donated these prizes.
It is very likely that the name judge developed from the activity of creating a price order. You probably didn’t think too much about it. The pigeon breed had such a high reputation that it was not a problem. Pigeon fanciers can therefore deal with it consciously.
In addition to the evaluation, licensing has a high priority in animal breeding. It is, so to speak, the continuation of the evaluation. Even if there is no licensing in pigeon breeding, you should take a closer look at this term. Finally, it makes sense that pigeons are not licensed. The licensing is the official breeding release of an animal. The animal is evaluated according to the standard, a protocol is drawn up and then the release is given or not. It is not uncommon for a performance test to precede the licensing. Licensing is only possible if this is passed successfully.
It was immensely important to the breeding associations and the state that only the best-performing animals were allowed to be bred. That’s understandable. In earlier times, for example, the food situation, the weal and woe of the population, and thus the stability of the state was decisively related to this. In fact, it was so important that licensing laws were enacted. In contrast to today, where genetic testing of the parent animals is almost the rule, things used to be different.
The Breeder is the Kormeister
Again and again, breeders have disregarded the licensing law and used unlicensed sires. One is almost happy about that today. This means that races have been preserved that were a thorn in the side of the state. It was believed that more modern breeds drove better. In the meantime, the advantage of racial diversity has been recognized and the buzzword biodiversity is on everyone’s lips.
Approval and performance testing are justified, especially for animal species in which large numbers of offspring can be achieved from a sire. The serious difference between phenotype and genotype must always be considered. For example, what use is a beautiful bull in cattle breeding if he passes on bad udders to the cows? Of course, even with pigeons, you have to differentiate exactly what the pigeon looks like and what it inherits. However, the consequences are not nearly as massive for the entire development of the breed.
A breeder will nevertheless observe very closely and possibly write down how certain traits are inherited. In this respect, the breeder is the Körmeister. He alone decides whether the pigeon goes into breeding. He is then solely responsible for the success or failure. It is therefore not possible to shift responsibility. Only the judge may give hints, but these mostly relate to the appearance of the pigeon. For this reason, the judges are not Körmeister or even breeding judges. They have nothing to do with licensing or with active breeding. This approach is an absolute success story. A change is therefore not necessary.