Oh goody, a discussion!
Please rest assured that I am not disrespecting anyone by the following
comments. They are just my personal opinions, which are fondly and
carefully cultivated.
"Coloration seems to be what adds so many different names to the ABS
line. A
GSD is a GSD no matter what color. Crooked tails or too much curve
disqualifies it for AKC registration, but it's still a GSD."
Only if proven by the records of the AKC that its lineage is pure.
Think about that one - no registry, no proof of lineage. Even then,
it's only on the say-so of the breeder/seller.
Coloration is only one element of the American Blackbelly breed.
Generations of breeding true to type, and PROOF of those generations are
what make a breed a breed. You can get a blackbelly-looking sheep by
breeding a blackbelly to a St. Croix, but just because it favors the
blackbelly parent doesn't make it a blackbelly.
The American Blackbelly is now a stand alone breed. That means it has
its own breed standards, and its own registry. There are many dedicated
breeders who have been breeding and registering the horned stock for
generations, culling animals that are not true to type. The BBSAI has
registered these animals for years, so there IS proven, recorded
ancestry! Right now, the BBSAI is working their weary backsides off,
perfecting the two registries. Anyone who is sick of the confusion
about what is Corsican, what is Barbados, what is crossbred, what is a
guttersnipe with blackbelly markings - you can go to the BBSAI, to the
dedicated breeders, to the records, to the pedigree (even unregistered
animals are TRACKED by the BBSAI),, and know for a certainty what you
are getting now, when you buy a blackbelly sheep.
You can call them Barbado, or Corsican, or whatever you like, but that
only adds to the confusion, now that there is a definition of what is
what. What you CAN'T do, ethically, is represent a sheep from a horned
flock as an animal of pure polled descent.
The American Blackbelly flock registry is still open, so animals of
unknown pedigree that meet the breed standard can be registered. This
is starting from scratch - that's where every breed starts. But if
you're on the trail of Building the American Blackbelly, which
represents probably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to contribute to
the distilled genetic pool of a true livestock breed, then your breeding
program will include rigorous culling for the characteristics that
expose outcrossing.
Personally, I find the challenge of meeting the new American Blackbelly
standards, not only awesome, but humbling. We have the chance to build
a breed of animal that is not only beautiful and efficient, but we may
be the gene pool that the commercial industry falls back on when feedlot
models fail and feedlot-performance sheep only die on pasture. This is
your contribution to the future of the food chain, and don't think
that's just pie in the sky thinking.
But we're nothing if we don't make a start, and the Yellow Brick Road
starts right there, in your pasture.
Oh, and BTW, how on earth did an American-made breed get to be
"Corsican"? Did the US annex Corsica without telling anyone? :o)
(TONGUE IN CHEEK - don't get offended!)
No breed is a "breed" without a registry, and that's what this Name Game
is all about. Make no mistake, there are some Magnificent American
Blackbelly sheep out there, because the breeders have held themselves to
a strict standard.
It is, of course, your right to sell your sheep as "Barbie Doll" (oh,
please...), Barbado, Corsican, or whatever. But if you are representing
your sheep as Barbados Blackbelly, or even American Blackbelly, it would
be a service to the breeds and the purchasers if you could prove it,
both through pedigree and arduously maintained registry records.
Best regards, and hopefully no flames,
Barb Lee, proud member of the BBSAI American Blackbelly Breed Standards
Committee
(Sorry, Carol, had to throw that in there)
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