Some information about the Union Européenne du Berger de Brie (UEBB)

By the end of the eighties a European union of Briard clubs was already being discussed. However, at that time an agreement for its organisation and functions could not be achieved.

In 1995 at Maria-Schmolln in Austria, some presidents of European Briard clubs gathered and agreed to found an association with the following main goals:

• Appoint a commission for breeding and health
  in order to collect information and to build data bases concerning inheritable diseases and anomalies, with the aim of their efficient control. It shall also suggest unified recommendations for breeders from existing and traditional material in order to better advise them and to steer them toward more careful selection to achieve higher quality, rather than intensive production.
• Appoint a commission for character and utility
  to work out tests for the judgement of character and behaviour in view of the peculiarity of our breed as a common valuation criteria throughout Europe. It shall choose specific work disciplines for Briards in order to preserve the inherited characteristics and properties of our breed. It shall also promote and organize meetings and tests for these disciplines.
• Appoint a commission for judges.
  It shall work out rules and guidelines for a common interpretation of the standard for the Briard in order to achieve as much as possible uniform judgements at shows. It shall also organize seminars for judges to make them familiar with the elaborated guidelines. In order to promote uniform judgements, the organizers of shows shall only invite judges who are ready to adopt the instructions of this commission.

The commissions are composed of 5 or 6 adequate specialists, delegated by the members of the UEBB. Larger commissions will become too unwieldy for elaborating decisions and furthermore too expensive. There are links between the commissions in order to keep each informed of their workings.

It is well known that breeders set their breeding goals according to their successes at shows, based on the features judges seem to select for. It is therefore hoped that more uniform judging will bring about more homogeneity of the appearance of the Briard.

After initial teething troubles, the machine is in operation and functions smoothly. The commissions are operating and they have already had their first meetings. The results are very promising and are showing the importance of this organisation, for the welfare of a healthy and assertive family- and utility-dog, with the typical distinctive traits of the breed. We do hope, that all European breeders will understand, that they can profit from the UEBB and that they can improve their breeding lines, if they are on the other hand ready to supply the commissions with the necessary information to feed its data bases and statistics.

At present the UEBB have the following members:
Belgium, Germany with BCD and CfH, England, France, Holland, Italy, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Slovakia and Spain. Though the organisation's name is UEBB, all Briadclubs world-wide are invited to participate.

Hervé Blasselle
The president of the UEBB