British scientist calls for tougher standards to curb health problems in pedigree dogs

UK report calls for tougher dog breeding standards

LONDON — Britain considers itself a nation of dog lovers. But a new report says the country needs tougher breeding standards and better education to curb deformity and disease caused by the quest for the best beagle or the perfect Pekingese.

Thursday’s report by a leading biologist comes after sponsors shunned the country’s most famous dog show over cruelty claims.

“The time has surely come for society as a whole to take a firm grip on the welfare issues that evidently arise in dog breeding,” said the report by Cambridge University professor emeritus Patrick Bateson.

The report was triggered by a BBC investigation that claimed breeding process that focused on appearance rather than health had resulted in high levels of deformity and genetic illnesses.

The 2008 documentary was a public relations disaster for the dog industry. The BBC stopped televising Crufts, Britain’s biggest dog show, after more than 40 years. Two major charities, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Dogs Trust, withdrew their support for the show, and pet food company Pedigree dropped its sponsorship.

The Kennel Club, which runs Crufts, and the Dogs Trust commissioned a report from Bateson, who interviewed breeders, vets, animal welfare charities and pet owners.

Bateson’s report said that while many breeders had high standards, others suffered from “negligent or incompetent management.”

He recommended tougher breeder accreditation rules, more inspections of breeding premises and micro-chipping of all puppies so they can be traceable back to their breeders.

Bateson said the dog-buying public was partly responsible for the problems, and recommended an education campaign by animal welfare groups to ensure people only bought puppies from reputable breeders and healthy parents.

The report — which echoes earlier calls for reform — said inbreeding makes dogs less resilient and more prone to disease. Even worse, some types of dogs have been bred to encourage extreme characteristics— such as smaller heads, flatter faces and more folds in the skin — leading to health problems.

The report pointed to syringomyelia in King Charles spaniels — a disorder in which the brain continues to grow after the skull has ossified — and skin conditions in wrinkly dogs that have been bred to be even more adorably furrowed.

Some dogs’ large heads means they must be delivered by Cesarean section; the report found 92.3 percent of Boston terriers and 86.1 percent of bulldogs were born that way.

Bateson said that “to the outsider, it seems incomprehensible that anyone should admire, let alone acquire an animal that has difficulty in breathing or walking.”

But breeders insist the problems with pedigree dogs have been exaggerated.

“Responsible breeders have never sought to exaggerate,” said Susan Jay of the London Bulldog Society. “I am a championship judge in bulldogs and I have never liked the exaggerated ones, with the very heavy wrinkles and the low-to-the-ground bent legs.

“Unfortunately the people you cannot reach, and the people you want to reach, are the irresponsible breeders — people who are only in it for money.”

The Kennel Club said it “broadly welcomed” the report and had already toughened its welfare standards.

In the wake of the BBC report, the club introduced new standards for more than 200 breeds, saying the rules would eliminate features “that might prevent a dog from breathing, walking and seeing freely.” The changes included fewer folds on the loose-skinned shar-pei and “the preclusion of excessive weight in Labradors.”

The American Kennel Club maintains a similar set of standards in the United States.

British Kennel Club spokeswoman Caroline Kisko said the club “is dedicated to ensuring that only the healthiest dogs are rewarded at shows.”

On the Net:

Bateson report: dogbreedinginquiry.com

Kennel Club: www.thekennelclub.org.uk

Dogs Trust: www.dogstrust.org.uk