UK: GCCF 10 Year Analysis of Registrations
In this article we will examine the level of kitten registrations in the
GCCF over a 10 year period (1997 - 2006).
It is worth noting that over this period of time, the number of kitten
registrations within the GCCF has remained consistent, with 32,696 kittens
registered in 1997 and 31,133 registered in 2006. The Mean Average registered
during this 10 year timeframe is 31,278 with yearly fluctuations deviating no
more than +5.5 -7.8%.Over this 10 year period, the overall trend of Bengal Kittens
Registrations within the GCCF has shown a steady increase, before showing a
minor drop in 2006, which in part may be due to an increase in the number of UK
breeders registering their litters with TICA.
| GCCF |
1997 |
1998 |
1999 |
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
Total No. of Bengal
Kittens Registered |
1222 |
1510 |
1836 |
1699 |
1942 |
2126 |
2384 |
2926 |
3113 |
2883 |
As a % of Total
Breed Registrations |
3.74 |
4.65 |
5.74 |
5.89 |
6.45 |
7.34 |
7.71 |
8.87 |
9.53 |
9.26 |
It is also worth pointing out that GCCF registration numbers have
remained consistent in spite of the huge decline in numbers of registered
Persians, as shown below:
| GCCF |
1997 |
1998 |
1999 |
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
Total No. of Persian
Kittens Registered |
8443 |
7846 |
6885 |
5463 |
5067 |
4264 |
3908 |
3625 |
3178 |
2693 |
As a % of Total
Breed Registrations |
25.82 |
24.16 |
21.52 |
18.94 |
16.82 |
14.72 |
12.64 |
10.99 |
9.73 |
8.65 |
Indeed, over a 15 year period, the statistics are even more extreme.
In 1992, GCCF Persian registrations numbered 11,119, accounting for 33.8% of all
registrations. In 2006, the number of registered Persians was a mere 2693
(24% of the number registered in 1992). This decline in popularity can
predominantly be explained by the prevalence of Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD),
an inherited genetic disease.
In 2006 the 'most popular breed' by quite a long way was the British Short Hair,
with 6353 registrations, making up 20.4% of the total number of registrations.
GCCF / CFA comparison
The chart above shows a comparison of litter registration numbers between the
The Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA), the worlds single largest registering
body, and the General Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF), the largest UK
registering body.
In 1997, the CFA registered over TWICE as many kittens as the GCCF. This
is unsurprising given the fact that the population of the USA is approximately
298 million in comparison to an approximate 60 million in the UK. However,
as the chart shows, by 2004, the gap had narrowed to approximately 20%.
Although we have no litter registration statistics for the CFA for 2005/2006,
minutes from board meetings in Oct 2006 make reference to income from
registrations continuing to fall at over 9%. Looking at the graph, this
current rate of decline in CFA registrations could see the GCCF become the
single largest registering body by the end of 2008.
There are several reasons why litter registration numbers have fallen in the
CFA, not least of which is has already been touched on above:- Polycystic Kidney
Disease (PKD). In 2000, Persians accounted for over 55% of litter
registration in the CFA. Subsequently, as Persian numbers have fallen
sharply, this has adversely effected CFA registration numbers, such as was their
reliance on one breed. Allied to this is the fact that the CFA considers
the Bengal a "wild cat," and does not accept the breed for registration, nor any
other hybrid breed containing 'wild blood'. This policy has probably
contributed to the growing popularity of ACFA & TICA.
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