Many cavy fanciers choose to exhibit their cavies under a stud name or prefix rather than use their own name.
All stud names used for the showing of cavies in the UK must be registered with the British Cavy Council, which is responsible for operating a unified Stud Prefix Registration Scheme on behalf of all breed and area clubs and members.
The unified scheme ensures that all prefixes are unique, belong only to a single named exhibitor or partnership, offer minimal risk of confusion, and are within the bounds of good taste. You can view the Stud Prefix Register on screen.
Any cavy keepers and exhibitors who wish to register a new stud name must do so in writing, using the application form that can be downloaded here. Applications should be sent to the BCC Stud Prefix Registrar at the address shown to the left. You will need to quote your name and address and the stud name you desire, as well as an alternative. You will also need to enclose payment of the required fee of £10 (cheques made payable to the British Cavy Council).
You will be informed when a prefix has been allocated to you and you will be issued with a registration certificate. In the event that your chosen prefix has already been allocated to another fancier, or is deemed to close to a prefix that has already been registered, you will be asked to choose again.
Fanciers may not use the requested prefix until it has been approved by the Registrar. NB: In setting up the Register, existing stud names and prefixes were included free of charge.
When choosing a stud prefix, certain factors need to be taken into consideration. The prefix will be a lasting point of reference to your activities within the cavy fancy and should reflect well on the individual(s) and the fancy as a whole. Whilst, not wishing to take things too seriously, some prefixes that have been accepted in the past bear little relevance to our hobby and others show too flippant an approach to the fancy. Additionally, prefixes should not imply superiority over others, be in bad taste or provocative and any links with commercial interests should be avoided; Savoy Hotel Stud, for example, may well lead to claims that the use of this name is being inappropriately exploited.
Also, one has to consider that this prefix will be used at shows and may well be written several times especially if one is successful in the final duplicates when the card writers will be hard pressed to complete the rush of classes before the finalities of the show culminate. For this reason, a limit of no more than 18 letters is imposed on current prefix applications and only suffixes of “stud” or “cavies” are now being accepted for similar reasons of brevity.
Stud prefixes using only the name of a particular breed of cavy, e.g. ‘Dutch Cavies’, will not be allowed henceforth. Such names that have been granted in the past will be rescinded, with the fanciers concerned (if contactable) asked to choose another name free of charge or refunded the fee paid. Fanciers are free to register a stud name that incorporates a breed, e.g. Triggy’s Dutch Cavies, but not one where only the breed name is used.
These matters are itemised below:-
- The stud name to be appropriate, not likely to be confused with others and in good taste.
- The name should not be linked to any commercial interests or imply superiority over other studs.
- The prefix must not comprise soley the name of a particular breed of cavy.
- The name should not be too long with a maximum length of 18 letters inclusive of the suffix.
Please note that under Southern Cavy Club and National Cavy Club rules, a stud name/prefix cannot be held jointly by a Juvenile and an Adult exhibitor if the Juvenile exhibitor wishes to show in Juvenile classes. An extract from the National Cavy Club rule 8 is shown below:
Juvenile exhibitors showing purebred cavies shall be over 7 and under 16 years of age. ... Members of a partnership or those who exhibit using a prefix or stud name are ineligible to exhibit in any class where the age or sex of the exhibitor is limited if one or more of the members concerned are outside the limits specified for the class.
The BCC Stud Prefix Registration Scheme is the only scheme recognised as valid for entries under National Cavy Club or Southern Cavy Club rules and in National, Regional and Specialist club shows. So if you wish to show or claim championships, pen cards or star awards using a Stud name it must be registered.
It has been brought to the attention of the British Cavy Council that stud prefix registration certificates are being used on some websites as a form of endorsement of the stud concerned, so as to promote the sale of cavies.
It should be made clear that the purpose of the BCC registration certificate is simply to confirm that a fee has been paid by someone to give him or her the sole use of the stud name when exhibiting stock at UK cavy shows. The stud prefix may also be used in adverts; but the display of a BCC certificate as a means of endorsement of the quality of stock sold is wholly inappropriate, as the British Cavy Council is unable to endorse the quality or suitability of any stock or product being sold.
Should the Council become aware of any cases where stud prefix certificates are being misused in this way, then it will report such cases to all breed clubs of which the person concerned is a member and ask them to take disciplinary action that could result in the termination of membership. It may also report the matter to the appropriate Trading Standards Office.
Wash 2: Designed by Simon Neesam for the British Cavy Council © 2020