http://www.pawpeds.com/cgi-bin/SBI
Hi,
Birman friends!
My
name is Camilla Axnér and I am the administrator of the Birman database, which
at the moment consists of +45 000 Birman pedigrees. By following the lines in
the pedigrees one can get a small "taste" of the Birman history.
A
little background
From
the very beginning I wanted to find out what cats were in the lines of my
bluepoint girl, so I started my collection of pedigrees in a very small fashion.
My dear friend and then mentor Anneli Koppel (always deeply missed) did all she
could to help out as well as encourage me, and soon the pile of pedigrees
started to grow.
Phase two came when I discovered computers and how the technology could help me
in working with pedigrees. Suddenly I was able to start creating the "tool"
I needed to make breeding & pedigree planning a lot easier. If you are a
beginner with little experience of your own about pedigrees, it is a good idea
to have contact with breeders with more experience who can help you learn.
The decision to create the open online database came when I realised that it had become large enough to be of use to other Birman breeders. Also I desperatly needed help with doing necessary corrections and additions. When the database was put online, it contained some 34 000 pedigrees, but already in this short time it has grown with 11 000 pedigrees :-)!! As soon as the decision to make it available on the Internet was made I contacted lawyers/barristers to find out if it was legal to do this, and I got "green lights" all the way. Next step was to ask the The Midnight Sun Society for the Sacred Cat (our Swedish Birman Society) formally if they wanted the database and I got a thundering; "Yes!", and so in August 2001 the Birman Database made it's debut on the Internet.
The
Birman Database policy:
·
The Birman Database will be available online (unless server problems
occur), and free of charge for anyone who wishes to use it.
· New additions are of course free, and corrections & updates are *Very Welcome*!! Please contact me at bluesapphire@birman.net
·
Anyone who does not want to be a part of the database only needs to
contact me at bluesapphire@birman.net ,
and give me the full name of the cat(s), and as soon as the next update is done
the cat(s) will be removed.
·
To reregister one’s registred cat(s) is the only thing I charge for,
and it costs 10 US Dollar per cat, but maxium cost is 50 US dollar.
·
The information that is registred in the Birman database is:
The Cat -name, -registration number, -colour, -date of birth and parents. No
names of breeders or owners are registred.
When
the cat has been registred, an updated file is sent (about once a month) to the
programmer, and he then runs it through two different test programs. When it has
passed both of the test programs it is published online and the update is
finished.
For
those of you who are interested in finding out what you can do online, you will
find test matings, be able to make pedigrees you can save locally through your
homepage or email, foundation analyses, find out how diffrent colours have
appeared (for this reason the DB also has some Persians, Balinese, Siamese and
proud houseCats), and you can also find out inbreeding % or maybe just "surf-down-the-generations"
for the fun of it.
A
vast amount of the pedigrees I have received have come through database
exchanges with other collectors, and because of this type of massive exchange,
it is almost impossible to give an answer as to where a lot of the single
pedigrees have come from. It also makes it difficult for me to contact everyone
involved and ask for their permission, though this has been my goal from the
beginning. I try to do this as much as I can via email and phone (you should see
my phone bills ;-) and I must say that the Birman People all over the world
amaze me!! Their positive responses and use of the database, as well as seeing
new possibilities that this tool brings. The second *major* contributor is from
the breeders themselves. I am so thankful for the number of wonderful Birman
people I have gotten in contact with, and I hope there will be much more contact
in the future.
The
constant increase of visitors (an average of 7 000/24 h) makes the database grow
in both number and "value". I get important corrections, updates and
additions, as the real value of the database is in direct proportion to it's
correctness. I do as much as I can to make it as correct & valuable as
possible but it takes it's time.
There
is one more purpose of the Birman Database and that is to give this material to
a genetic researcher from our State University in order for him/her to provide
us with information as to how many foundation lines we are working with, and if
the number of kittens born in Birman litters have increased/decreased. There are
a number of questions and answers to be found out through this work. But this is
still something that is in the future, and there is a lot of work that needs to
be done first, like additions and corrections, to make the material useful for
genetic research. This is also the reason why all Birmans in the database are of
equal value and importance, because if the pet kittens (that will never be shown
or bred from) in a litter are not registred then the material is not complete
from a genetic point of view.
To
all of you who wish to and/or have chosen to contribute your pedigrees, I direct
my sincerest *Thank you*
for entrusting me with your cat’s ancestry to administer in a way that will
also be of use for others. And to all of you who are reading this, you are all *very
Welcome* to send me your pedigrees, as they are needed! All Birmans; show cats,
breeding cats, and family stars, are welcome in the Birman database, as they are
all equally Valuable!
Camilla
Axnér
bluesapphire@birman.net
http://bluesapphire.hemsida.net
The Birman Database
http://www.pawpeds.com/cgi-bin/SBI
Camilla
Axnér
Tomträttsvägen 27
SE-129 31 Hägersten
Sweden
Fax: +468915629 (from
the 1/3-03 +468182077)
