The third site is Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire, where the Kennel Club Building consists of a restaurant, an educational centre, and showground facilities.

It is held every March at the NEC, Birmingham, and includes the less formal Scruffts show for crossbreed and mixed-breed dogs.

[3] The Kennel Club was founded on 4 April 1873 after Sewallis E. Shirley became frustrated by trying to organise dog shows without a consistent set of rules.

Together with a group of other gentlemen, he organised the First Grand Exhibition of Sporting and Other Dogs held at Crystal Palace in June 1870.

Among the changes he helped introduce were the revamping of the Club's constitution, the development of the Junior Organisation to encourage youth participation in the sport of dog showing, and the creation of the library and the charitable trust.

She then sold it to the Kennel Club, as she felt unable to devote the time to running such a large undertaking and she wanted to perpetuate her husband's legacy.

From originally being a show for the exhibition of purebred dogs, it has expanded over the years and now incorporates most other canine disciplines such as Obedience, Agility, and Flyball.

[21] The Animal Health Trust (AHT) has frequently received donations from the Kennel Club and, in 2012, a £1.5 million interest free loan was granted to the AHT to enable it to complete the building and equipping of a new animal cancer treatment and research centre at its base in Suffolk.

[22][23] The AHT also regularly receives funding to enable work to continue at the Genetics Centre run in conjunction with the Kennel Club.

[24] The Kennel Club Charitable Trust also funded a new building at the National Agricultural Centre, Stoneleigh Park, Kenilworth, which was opened by Prince Michael of Kent in February 2009.

The Kennel Club had accumulated quite a large collection of canine artwork, including 130 oil paintings,100 works on paper, nearly 100 engravings and prints, and the same number of sculptures and trophies.

As the ABS membership grew, a number of regional advisors were recruited to inspect breeders' premises and paperwork to ensure adequate standards were being met.

[34] The Associate Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare report indicated that the low breeding standards practiced by some in the ABS may allow the public to be "falsely led into thinking a puppy they buy from an accredited breeder registered with the KC will have no health or welfare problems associated with its breeding history."

The Inquiry believes that ultimately The Kennel Club can win back trust by showing that they are willing to take responsibility for dogs registered with them and that they are willing to lose members who do not meet high standards.The report warned that if the health measures implemented by the Kennel Club fails, government regulations might be necessary.

[36] In April 2013, it was announced that the ABS scheme had secured recognition by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS).

In January 2010, Prof. Sir Patrick Bateson had advocated seeking UKAS accreditation in his Independent Inquiry into Dog Breeding.

The review highlighted the need for more comprehensive education and support for all breeders, regardless of their experience, and emphasised the importance of expanding initiatives to benefit a greater number of registered dogs.

Challenges cited included barriers to entry, such as membership fees, which limited participation and constrained the scheme’s ability to achieve widespread impact.

The Kennel Club plans to integrate the principles of the ABS into a new registration model that incentivises good breeding practices, promotes health testing, and makes educational resources more accessible to breeders and puppy buyers.

However, it is clear that we need a more inclusive and impactful approach that supports all breeders, educates puppy buyers, and addresses welfare issues at scale.” The ABS will officially closed on 31 December 2024.

The Kennel Club will engage with breeders in the coming months to develop the new registration model and provide additional details about forthcoming initiatives.