Executive Summary:

Of late, our collective of Nigerian Dwarf breeders has consistently run into censorship regarding appearance descriptions when attempting to register new stock. Some examples of the dispute are with descriptions such as Cou Clair with Moon Spots, Chocolate Cou Clair, and Sundgau with color modifications.  A proposal has been sent to the Chair of the Breed Standards Committee to emphasize that *any color, pattern, or combination of colors and patterns* is acceptable in the Nigerian Dwarf breed.  Prompt attention to educating the office staff and/or changing our breed standard as suggested is required in order to allow registrations to proceed without impedance.

To Whom it May Concern,

We are reaching out to you today since many Nigerian Dwarf breeders have been having registration applications “kicked back” since the roll out of NG, which hasn’t happened prior. The issue seems to be that office staff are disallowing color/pattern descriptions when Nigerian Dwarf breeders use combinations of terms that are used for the Alpine breed. 

Nigerian Dwarfs are a breed developed here in the United States, which is now Purebred only.  Many foundation animals are likely to have been descendants of many other breeds, thus we have many colors and patterns exhibited in our goats. When genetically combined, these result in animals which aren’t easily described using only one term for pattern and color.  In order to describe these goats to the best of our ability, we have turned to genetics to help guide our naming conventions.

It is our interest to work together with ADGA to have a more accurate and efficient registration process from start to finish, from the member’s end to yours. This impasse is not productive for any party and furthers tension and frustration among all involved.  Again, we propose updating the breed standard to read “Any color, pattern, or combination of colors and patterns is acceptable.”, in addition to retraining office staff who refuse to allow Nigerian Dwarf breeders to describe their goats as they deem appropriate.