Breed registry

A breed registry, also known as a herdbook, studbook or register, in animal husbandry, the hobby of animal fancy, is an official list of animals within a specific breed whose parents are known. Animals are usually registered by their breeders while they are young. The terms studbook and register are also used to refer to lists of male animals "standing at stud", that is, those animals actively breeding, as opposed to every known specimen of that breed. Such registries usually issue certificates for each recorded animal, called a pedigree, pedigreed animal documentation, or most commonly, an animal's "papers". Registration papers may consist of a simple certificate or a listing of ancestors in the animal's background, sometimes with a chart showing the lineage.

There are breed registries and breed clubs for several species of animal, such as dogs, horses, cows and cats. The European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) and the US Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) also maintains stud books for captive species on display ranging from aardvarks to zebras.

Kennel clubs always maintain registries, either directly or through affiliated dog breed clubs. Some multi-breed clubs also maintain registries, as do non-affiliated breed clubs, and there are a few registries that are maintained by other private entities such as insurance agencies; an example of this in the United States is the Field Dog Stud Book. Working dog organizations also maintain registries.

There are also entities that refer to themselves as registries, but that are thinly veiled marketing devices for vendors of puppies and adult dogs, as well as a means of collecting registration fees from novice dog owners unfamiliar with reputable registries and breed clubs. Although these entities generally focus on dogs, particularly in relationship to the puppy mill industry, some are marketed as cat registries. At least one group claims to register wild species (held by private individuals rather than by legitimate zoological parks, which use the AZA).

Horse breeding also has such problematic registries, particularly for certain color breeds. While many color breeds are legitimate, some "registries" are primarily a marketing tool for poor quality animals that are not accepted for registration by more mainstream organizations. Other "registries" are marketing attempts to create new horse breeds, usually by breeders using crossbreeding to create a new type, but the animals are not yet breeding true.

Many such questionable registries are incorporated as for-profit commercial businesses, in contrast to the formal not-for-profit status of most reputable breed clubs. They may provide volume discounts for registrations by commercial dog breeders such as puppy mills. An unscrupulous registry for dogs or horses is often spotted by a policy to not require any proof of pedigree at all. In the dog world, such registries may not sponsor competitions and thus cannot award championship points to identify the best individuals registered within a particular breed or species. In the less-organized world of horse shows, where many different sanctioning organizations exist, some groups sponsor their own competitions, though wins at such events seldom carry much prestige in mainstream circles.

Some registers have the word "registry" in their title used in the sense of "list"; these entities are not registers in the usual sense in that they do not maintain breeding records. In the dog world, listed animals are required to be de-sexed. The American Mixed Breed Obedience Registry is an example. Some equestrian organizations create a recording system for tracking the competition records of horses, but, though horses of any sex may be recorded, they also do not maintain breeding or progeny records. The United States Equestrian Federation is one organization that uses such a system.

A closed stud book is a stud book or breed registry that does not accept any outside blood. The registered animals and all subsequent offspring trace back to the foundation stock. This ensures that the animal is a purebred member of the breed. In horses, an example of a closed stud book is that of the Thoroughbred, with a stud book tracing to 1791. The American Kennel Club is an example of a kennel club with primarily closed books for dogs; it allows new breeds to develop under its Foundation Stock Service (FSS), but such dogs are not eligible for competition in AKC conformation shows, although they do compete at those shows in the FSS category. For the breed to move to the Miscellaneous class and then to fully recognized status, the breed's stud book must be closed.