Ente Nazionale della Cinofilia Italiana
The Ente Nazionale della Cinofilia Italiana, usually known as ENCI, is the national organisation responsible for dog pedigree registration services in Italy. It is sometimes called the Italian Kennel Club.
The association provides judging for dog shows and many other services relating to dog showing. The club was founded in 1882 as the Kennel Club Italiano. It is a full member of the Fédération Cynologique Internationale.. It received approval from the Ministero delle Politiche Agricole Alimentari e Forestali, the Italian ministry of agriculture, in 1992, and is the only organisation approved to register dog breeds. The head office is located in Milan, and it has offices in all regions of Italy.
In 2009 the association had more than 160,000 dogs listed in its stud books and organised about 400 shows. It gives special attention to the sixteen recognised breeds originating in Italy, i.e. the Bergamasco Shepherd, the Bolognese, the Bracco Italiano, the Cane Corso, the Cirneco dell'Etna, the Italian Greyhound, the Lagotto Romagnolo, the Maltese, the Maremmano-Abruzzese Sheepdog, the Neapolitan Mastiff, the Segugio dell'Appennino, the short-haired and wire-haired Segugio Italiano, the Segugio Maremmano, the Spinone Italiano and the Volpino Italiano.
