Right now, I am thinking that these registries are just money-making thingies -- please tell me I am wrong. Why can't I just start a registry (BDF- best dogs forever) and what is this all about?

I am watching a cat show (Cats 101) and many of these breeds are less than 20 years old. What is that about????? So I could start a breed with feral cat 'A' and mate it with feral cat 'B' and start a breed????? My brain is full now people- are just plain nuts.

Sounds too depressingly familiar, doesn't it? Backyard breeders are the majority suppliers of animal shelters and pounds everywhere. They are death merchants. They are the major cause of pet overpopulation and euthanasia of those surplus animals. The real laugh is that they supposedly care for the animals in their custody. But they breed them anyway and add more bodies to the crematoriums and landfills.

Reputable breeders DO exist, but they are few and far between. The "registry bodies" are unfortunately NOT regulatory bodies, so they do no differentiate between back yarders and reputable breeders. All they do is certify that XXX and YYY parents are of breeds recognized by their particular registry, even if they are ridiculous crossbreeds, and then the pups have "papers". It's up to the responsible breeders and customers to strive for quality. At least the AKC maintains a method by which quality bred dogs are recognized. It may not be a perfect system, but at least it has a goal that is able to be judged by experienced and unbiased persons. That's more than any of the "designer dog" registries have.