BBC: Will It a Stand for Dogs?

Over at K-9 Magazine Ryan O'Meara has a provocative piece:

The BBC Will Continue to Broadcast Crufts

Imagine it.

Any day now, this is the headline you could be reading.

Of course, the alternative headline: The BBC Will Not Continue to Broadcast Crufts is also a possibility - as it stands the BBC is currently in the review process but as we know, Crufts is coming round in March and a decision will need to be reached very soon.

Ryan goes on to detail what has happened since Pedigree Dogs Exposed was first aired in August (read the whole thing) and then notes that the BBC has been less than transparent about how they are making their decision about continued sponsorship:

The BBC meanwhile have kept silent. They have constantly refused to answer questions about who it is that is advising them on the future of Crufts, what their qualifications are, what their backgrounds are, whether they have any links to the dog world or - more pertinently - the dog show world. This is highly unusual. Why would the BBC, a public funded body, feel it had the right to operate under a cloak of secrecy? Surely if it wants the public to accept its final decision on whether to continue to air Crufts with respect, it should be utterly transparent about what model it is using to assess the suitability of Crufts in its current form? . . . .

. . . . So now, let us imagine the headline of this feature is what you read tomorrow: The BBC Will Continue to Broadcast Crufts, how will you view that decision?

Does the BBC know more than the UK’s leading veterinary charity? Do they know more than the UK’s leading animal welfare charity? Do they know more than the UK’s leading dog charity? Do they know more than the UK’s leading dog warden association? Who knows! Because we’ve not been told who is actually advising them. A freedom of information request has been submitted to the corporation but still, no word.

Let us not forget the words of the Kennel Club’s own secretary Caroline Kisko who described the position of the BBC in relation to their continued broadcast of Crufts as “untenable”. Strong stuff.

So which way do you think it will go?