The health of pedigree dogs is being put at risk by breeders seeking “fashionable” characteristics, an independent report said on Thursday, calling for widespread changes to breeding practices.
The report, the conclusion of a 10 month-inquiry into dog breeding, also said dangerous dog laws should be changed to apply to all dogs shown to be dangerous rather than just specified breeds and to tackle the problem of dogs being bred and reared as weapons for fighting.
“Many breeders exercise high standards of welfare, but negligent management on puppy farms is a major welfare issue as is inbreeding in pure-bred dogs,” said the Zoological Society of London’s president, Patrick Bateson, who carried out the inquiry.
“Fashions for extreme conformations are also a cause of welfare problems,” he said.
Bateson said the practices of using small numbers of successful show dogs for breeding purposes and selective breeding of close relatives to achieve desired characteristics was having a negative impact on the welfare of pedigree dogs.
More than 85 percent of bulldogs cannot give birth naturally as their puppies’ heads are too large, he said, while a fashion for small heads in King Charles spaniels mean many suffer from a disorder in which their brain grows beyond the size of their skull, causing pain and fits.
The report recommended an advisory panel be set up to develop breeding strategies that tackle such problems of inherited disease and inbreeding, while scientific advice should be made available to breeders and owners, with rewards for breeders who deliver high welfare standards.
The inquiry was commissioned by the Kennel Club, which runs the Crufts dog show, and the Dogs Trust charity last year following a BBC documentary that highlighted concerns about pedigree breeding practices.
, after which BBC pulled out of a long-standing arrangement to televise the annual Crufts show.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), an animal charity that also withdrew support for Crufts, welcomed the report’s recommendations and said it hoped urgent action would now be taken to ensure changes are enforced.
“The world has woken up to the extremely unpalatable truth that the health and welfare of many pedigree dogs is seriously compromised as a result of the way they are bred,” RSPCA veterinary adviser Mark Evans said. “Pedigree dogs need our help.”
The report also raised concerns about large commercial breeding centers or “puppy farms,” recommending greater regulation of breeders and more information for the public about what questions to ask and what to look for when buying a dog.
In a joint statement, the Kennel Club and the Dogs Trust said they broadly welcomed the report and its recommendations to tackle irresponsible breeders.
VIOLENT STANDOFFS: The government said 215 students have been injured since the start of the movement last month, including a teenager who lost a hand on Monday Thousands of demonstrators yesterday massed under heavy police surveillance in Paris and cities across France, as unions and teachers joined high-school students who for days have been demanding better conditions in protests punctuated by violent clashes. Students have blocked the entrances to hundreds of high schools for 15-to-17-year-olds since late last month, complaining of missing teachers, overloaded schedules, dilapidated classrooms and buildings that cannot cope with rising temperatures. In the Paris suburb of Creteil, where the protests started last month, students piled barriers outside the Saint-Exupery high school. “We are here to make our voice heard, all too often forgotten,” student Abderrahmane Abdelkader
As shark attack survivor Mel Ismail fought the predator that severed his leg, he noticed something odd. “I saw its eye ... a big black eye,” Ismail said. “But it was winking back at me — I was trying to get my fingers in its eye and just pushing its eye as I was being dragged.” When the shark swam off, he managed to struggle back to shore, the surfer and professional firefighter said in an Australian Broadcasting Corp interview broadcast on Thursday. He was surfing at Glenfield Beach near Geraldton on Australia’s west coast when he was attacked on Sept. 14. He
A Tuvalu government adviser yesterday said it felt like Australia had “taken over” the tiny country’s sovereignty during a visit by leaders to the Pacific island. The official — a senior government adviser who asked to remain anonymous because they were not authorized to speak to the media — said they were disappointed in Australia’s handling of the visit. The comments came during a visit by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and other leaders to Tuvalu, which has become a symbol of the existential threat posed by rising seas and is a key partner in Canberra’s Pacific strategy. “Just because we signed the
Halfway around the world from Russia, in a Caribbean tourism hot spot, men young and old are being lured by Moscow with tantalizing job offers, only to find themselves en route to the front lines in Ukraine. Moscow and Kyiv have recruited thousands of foreign nationals into their armies since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Moscow is accused, in some cases, of using fake job ads to hoodwink men from deprived backgrounds in Africa, Asia and Latin America into traveling to Russia and then forcing them to fight on arrival. From countries such as India, Kenya, Equatorial Guinea, Colombia and
RSS