Esa Kukkonen is the new Chair of the Finnish Kennel Club

Kukkonen has served as a member of the Finnish Kennel Club's Board since 2017. He has been the Chair of the Finnish Kennel Club’s Trial and Competition Committee as well as Koiranet working group. He has a background as a hunting dog enthusiast and has served for a long time as Chair and Board member for Suomen Harmaahirvikoirajärjestö. He has done his professional career in the IT field.

- I want to see the Finnish Kennel Club as an enabler that is close to all its members; a club that acts flexibly, supports, and helps develop all canine activities within organized kennel activities, Kukkonen outlines.

He also hopes that the Finnish Kennel Club will be an even more emphatic influencer in the society.

A changing operational environment challenges the Finnish Kennel Club to renew itself

The Finnish Kennel Club is an old, appreciated, and traditional organization. Its economic operational preconditions are formed by registration of dogs and a large number of members. In addition to securing economic operational preconditions, Kukkonen sees a changing operational environment as a challenge. The Finnish Kennel Club must be able to renew itself, without compromising on its traditional values.

- The number of registration of dogs in Finland has remained on a good level without any large, sudden changes. Hopefully, the state’s new Dog Registry does not confuse normal dog owners or cause negative attitudes against registration. Best case scenario, the state’s Dog Registry can clarify what the Finnish Kennel Club’s dog registry is and what its purpose is.

For a long time, Kukkonen has been involved in developing the Finnish Kennel Club's information systems. The Finnish Kennel Club’s dog registry is a significant databank that supports dog breeding. The information in the registry is valuable especially for dog breeders and breed clubs, for scientific research as well as for all those people who are getting a dog. A large amount of the information is openly available online in the Finnish Kennel Club’s Breeding Database.

Attention must be paid on dog welfare in all activities

The Finnish Kennel Club has been actively involved in preparing the new Finnish Animal Welfare Act. For the Finnish Kennel Club, active responsibility also means development of its own activities and self-monitoring to support the well-being of dogs.

- I want to believe that sufficient and correctly targeted tools for producing even healthier dogs in the future by breeding are included in the breeding decree, that complements the new Animal Welfare Act. It would be very important that the experts at the Finnish Kennel Club are included in writing this decree, Kukkonen emphasizes.

In trial and competition activities, active responsibility also means that there is a need to develop regulations concerning interruption or cancellation of a trial or trial performance. This way, a responsible organizer of an event has sufficient tools to ensure the well-being of animals. In all trial forms where other animals are used, attention must also be paid on the well-being of these animals in addition to dogs, Kukkonen reminds.

For further information

Chair of the Finnish Kennel Club’s Board
Esa Kukkonen
esa.kukkonen@kennelliitto.fi
tel. +358 44 364 2271