We, as both members of the two GCCF (Governing Council of the Cat Fancy) Affiliated Burmese clubs, known as the Burmese Cat Club and the Burmese Cat Society, and other interested parties worldwide, appeal to the GCCF Full Council and the GCCF Genetics Committee to intervene and reject the January 2013 Burmese Cat Registration Policy (http://tinyurl.com/2013Burmeseregpol), which was approved at the GCCF Board of Directors meeting on 15 January 2013, and to add approval of the use of cats of natural Thai origin as suitable outcrosses to the policy.



Professor Leslie Lyons of the University of California (Davis) is one of the world’s leading feline geneticists and has warned that the Burmese breed are in the top two most inbred feline breeds in the world. She warned that if the breed was wild, it would be extinct by now, and has called for the urgent need to outcross and cites the natural Thai breeds as the most suitable. Her presentation to the Burmese Breed Council in the USA can be seen in 10 parts here http://www.youtube.com/user/agraafmans?feature=plcp

The origins of the Burmese breed started with the import of a cat, commonly found in Burma and Thailand, known as the Suphalak. We feel that random bred and natural born Thai cats will be the most suitable cats to be used in any Burmese outcross programme. They possess genetic diversity, and are essentially of the same origins. Other suitable Thai breeds include Korat, Khao Manee, and Wichien Mat and Konja.

However, the latest Burmese registration policy has still not approved ANY outcrosses at all. For over 2 years there have been discussions about which breeds to outcross to and we feel that decisions must now be made urgently. When this was being discussed by the Breed Advisory Committee the question of the natural Thai cats came up, it was rejected as it was felt that the “origins of some of those cats is unknown”. This is untrue. Professor Lyons has developed a PCR test that will isolate the region of origin of any cat. http://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/services/cat/ancestry/

This indecision is in total contrast to the policies of the Cat Fanciers Association (CFA) and The International Cat Association (TICA). Both of which have tackled the Burmese inbreeding problem head-on and accepted the registration of the Suphalak as Burmese into their registries. http://www.cfa.org/documents/minutes/Feb11-summary.pdf It also flies in the face of public outrage following a TV documentary about inbreeding in dogs and the resulting health problems. The GCCF are keen to be seen to be “keeping their own house in order”, but this will only serve to cause further concerns into breeding practices in the UK. The majority of Burmese breeders in the UK are in favour of outcrossing, and the action of the Burmese breed advisory committee, in pushing this registration policy through without agreeing on outcrossing, is at the very least short sighted and at worst, irresponsible.

A Thai outcrossing policy was adopted by the Korat breed advisory committee, and is working well, with new cats of Thai origins replenishing the bloodlines of Korats in GCCF.

We urge the GCCF and the Genetics Committee to reject the January 2013 revision of the Burmese Registration Policy and to add a motion to outcross our Burmese to cats of natural Thai origin.