Today we have reached the goal of full recognition for the Shikoku in Canada which in the past 20 years has at times seemed unreachable.
The Canadian Kennel Club (CKC) advised us that the Canadian Minister of Agriculture has approved our application to recognize the Shikoku as a unique breed as described under the Animal Pedigree Act in Canada.
Katja and I have worked on this file since importing the first Shikoku for breeding purposes in 2000. Application was first made to the CKC for full recognition of the breed early in the decade; after reaching miscellaneous status with the CKC an application was made to pole the members of the club, an important first step in becoming recognized, unfortunately the Shikoku was not included on the 2012 club referendum for this purpose. It was however included on the 2016 referendum and was subsequently approved for recognition by a majority of CKC members.
In Canada, pure bred animals need to be approved as such under federal legislation (the Animal Pedigree Act). The CKC submitted formal application and referendum results to Agriculture Canada who worked on the file since early 2017 culminating in official Ministerial recognition on October 9th 2020.