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.
Archeologists in Peru on Thursday said they found the 5,000-year-old remains of a noblewoman at the sacred city of Caral, revealing the important role played by women in the oldest center of civilization in the Americas. “What has been discovered corresponds to a woman who apparently had elevated status, an elite woman,” archeologist David Palomino said. The mummy was found in Aspero, a sacred site within the city of Caral that was a garbage dump for more than 30 years until becoming an archeological site in the 1990s. Palomino said the carefully preserved remains, dating to 3,000BC, contained skin, part of the
‘WATER WARFARE’: A Pakistani official called India’s suspension of a 65-year-old treaty on the sharing of waters from the Indus River ‘a cowardly, illegal move’ Pakistan yesterday canceled visas for Indian nationals, closed its airspace for all Indian-owned or operated airlines, and suspended all trade with India, including to and from any third country. The retaliatory measures follow India’s decision to suspend visas for Pakistani nationals in the aftermath of a deadly attack by shooters in Kashmir that killed 26 people, mostly tourists. The rare attack on civilians shocked and outraged India and prompted calls for action against their country’s archenemy, Pakistan. New Delhi did not publicly produce evidence connecting the attack to its neighbor, but said it had “cross-border” links to Pakistan. Pakistan denied any connection to
TRUMP EFFECT: The win capped one of the most dramatic turnarounds in Canadian political history after the Conservatives had led the Liberals by more than 20 points Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday pledged to win US President Donald Trump’s trade war after winning Canada’s election and leading his Liberal Party to another term in power. Following a campaign dominated by Trump’s tariffs and annexation threats, Carney promised to chart “a new path forward” in a world “fundamentally changed” by a US that is newly hostile to free trade. “We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons,” said Carney, who led the central banks of Canada and the UK before entering politics earlier this year. “We will win this trade war and
Armed with 4,000 eggs and a truckload of sugar and cream, French pastry chefs on Wednesday completed a 121.8m-long strawberry cake that they have claimed is the world’s longest ever made. Youssef El Gatou brought together 20 chefs to make the 1.2 tonne masterpiece that took a week to complete and was set out on tables in an ice rink in the Paris suburb town of Argenteuil for residents to inspect. The effort overtook a 100.48m-long strawberry cake made in the Italian town of San Mauro Torinese in 2019. El Gatou’s cake also used 350kg of strawberries, 150kg of sugar and 415kg of
RSS