'Playing God': The King Charles spaniel is among the dog breeds that are plagued by disease and deformity due to 'beauty pageant' demandsAll puppies should have to be microchipped to help prevent the breeding of deformed and disabled pedigree dogs, an inquiry ruled yesterday.
The grain-sized electronic chips would be coded with information that would trace those who make money from trading in sickly animals, Professor Sir Patrick Bateson said.
The measure is one of a series of recommendations designed to improve the lot of seven million pet dogs following a BBC documentary that lifted the lid on the painful and incurable diseases many suffer.
The programme, Pedigree Dogs Exposed, claimed that decades of inbreeding and the 'beauty pageant' demands of the show circuit had resulted in a legacy of ills, from agonising brain conditions to epilepsy, heart murmurs and cancers.
The golden retriever, King Charles spaniel, boxer, bulldog and pug were highlighted as breeds plagued by disease and deformity as a result of breeders 'playing God with dogs'.
The allegations caused uproar among animal welfare charities and led to the BBC severing its 40-year association with Crufts.
The Kennel Club, which sets the standards for Britain's 200 or so breeds of pedigree dog, strenuously denied the allegations, saying inbreeding was an 'essential tool' in the development of breeds.
Warning: 'The British bulldog has suffered so many health problems they would not exist today if not for the skill of vets'It later bowed to the criticism, revised some of its breed criteria and commissioned the independent inquiry chaired by Sir Patrick, who is president of the Zoological Society of London and a Cambridge University expert on animal behaviour.
Expert: Professor Sir Patrick Bateson hopes his dog breeding recommendations will become lawYesterday, the Kennel Club appeared to have scored an own goal when the ten-month investigation, part-funded by the Dogs Trust welfare charity, failed to give pedigree dogs a clean bill of health.
Sir Patrick said: '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.
'Fashions for extreme conformations are also a cause of welfare problems.'
He cited the example of the great British bulldog which he said would not exist today were it not for the skill of vets.
The large size of the animal's head in comparison to its body means that 90 per cent of births are done by Caesarean section.
A third of cavalier King Charles spaniels have syringomyelia, an agonising condition caused by them being bred with skulls that are too small for their brains.
Sir Patrick called for an independent body to overhaul breeding strategies and for a computer database to monitor rates of disease and deformity.
Insisting that buyers see puppies with their mothers would help crack down on imports from puppy farms and on internet sales.
He also recommended a public awareness programme which he suggested could be fronted by a celebrity such as Joanna Lumley.The professor said he hoped many of his recommendations, which were 'broadly welcomed' by the Kennel Club, will become law.
A spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said they would be considered carefully.
Sir Patrick, who said people should be better educated about what to look for when buying a dog, gave the following advice:
- A dog is for life, not just for Christmas. Think hard about the size and temperament of dog that will fit your lifestyle.
- Don't buy over the internet - insist on seeing mother and pup together.
- Insist the breeder microchips the puppy before sale.
- Ask if the mother and father have had tests for genetic diseases that run in the breed.
- Ask for copies of vaccination, registration and other documents at time of sale.
source: dailymail
Posts
