Bbc Could Drop Crufts Over Unhealthy Breeds

[merledogs]

Link to story.

 

 

BBC could drop Crufts over unhealthy 'freak show' breeds

By Jonathan Margolis and Fiona Macrae

Last updated at 12:00 AM on 19th August 2008

 

The BBC could stop showing Crufts after a documentary exposed the diseases and deformities suffered by many of Britain's five million pedigree dogs.

 

Decades of inbreeding and the demands of the show circuit have resulted in a legacy of life-threatening ills, from agonising brain conditions to epilepsy, heart murmurs and cancers.

 

The golden retriever, the cavalier King Charles spaniel, the boxer, the Pekingese, the bulldog and the pug are among the breeds plagued by disease and deformity as a result of breeders 'playing God with dogs', tonight's programme claims.

 

With purebreds accounting for threequarters of Britain's 7million pet dogs, their catalogue of health problems is costing their owners more than £10million in vets' fees every week.

 

So shocking are some of the scenes in the documentary - including a boxer having an epileptic fit and a King Charles spaniel writhing in agony because its skull is too small for its brain - that the BBC is considering ending its 42-year connection with Crufts.

 

There is even speculation that the Queen, well known for her love of dogs, could cut her ties with the Kennel Club, which runs Crufts and sets the standards for the 200 or so breeds of pedigree dog.

 

Mark Evans, the RSPCA's chief vet, said: 'When I watch Crufts, what I see is a parade of mutants. It's some freakish, garish beauty pageant that has nothing, frankly, to do with health and welfare.

 

'We've become completely and utterly desensitised to the fact that breeding these deformed, disabled, disease-prone animals is either shocking or abnormal.'

 

The BBC1 documentary Pedigree Dogs Exposed, to be shown at 9pm, is the result of a two-year investigation into the breeding and show circuits. It highlights the health problems suffered by many of our favourite pets.

 

Vets describe how virtually all cavalier King Charles spaniels develop life-threatening heart murmurs. And a third have syringomyelia, an agonising condition caused by them being bred with skulls too small for their brains.

 

Veterinary neurolo-gist Clare Rusbridge said: 'The cavalier's brain is like a size ten foot that has been shoved into a size six shoe; it doesn't fit.

 

'It is described in humans as one of the most painful conditions you can have, a piston-type headache. Even a light touch - a collar, for example - can induce discomfort.

 

'If you took a stick and beat a dog to create that pain, you'd be prosecuted. But there's nothing to stop you breeding a dog with it.'

 

The programme says the drive for perfection has left golden retrievers prone to cancer, labradors with joint and eye problems, West Highland terriers beset with allergies and boxers at high risk of heart disease, epilepsy and cancer.

 

Pugs are so inbred that although there are 10,000 in Britain, their DNA could come from just 50.

 

The Pekingese's squashed face causes breathing difficulties that lead to some airlines refusing to fly them. So serious are the breathing problems that Danny, the 2003 Crufts winner, sat on an ice pack while being photographed afterwards to stop him overheating.

 

To ensure desirable traits are passed on, male dogs are being mated with their own daughters, sisters and granddaughters.

 

Steve Jones, professor of genetics at University College London, said: 'If dog breeders insist on going further down that road, I can say with confidence that there is a universe of suffering waiting for many of these breeds and many, if not most, will not survive.'

 

The Kennel Club said it worked hard 'to eliminate from breed standards any exaggerations that might cause problems'.

 

Club secretary Caroline Kisko said many of the health problems have their roots in Victorian times and inbreeding was an 'essential tool' in the development of breeds.

 

The organisation runs a range of health testing schemes and is funding the development of genetic tests. 'Ninety per cent of purebred dogs are healthy,' she said.

 

Eamon Hardy, the documentary's executive producer, said: 'In light of this programme, the BBC will request a meeting with the Kennel Club to discuss the implications and potential impact of the film.'

 

Buckingham Palace said it could not comment on speculation,

Edited August 19, 2008 by merledogs

[ailsas mum]

Fantastic news , this is the same article it's just from the bbc website. A programme fthat no dog lover should miss ( except me cause I always fall asleep about then )

Terri

[Yantan]

Hope the programme has really positive shockwaves.

 

Thanks for posting Alex

[DanishPastry]

I hope this won't give a boost to breeders of fashionable crossbreeds. ("doodles" and such). We will both be watching with interest tonight.

[JACKYSIAN]

Those pictures are just shocking!!!! Lets hope it has a positive effect.

[ReikiAnge]

Will watch with erm, interest. Had no idea the Basset had changed that much, nor had I read about the cavalier and their skull/brain size before

 

I wonder how much is to do with the drive for perfection and how much to do with the increase in puppy farming and people breeding for money rather than with the breed's best interest at heart.

 

Some breeds do look seriously mutated from the original appearance though, I agree.

[celeste]

One I'll be watching with interest.

What the KC have to say KC bite back

[ReikiAnge]

There's a bit of me hoping it might perhaps make people think twice about where they are buying puppies from, but then I am not sure those who most need to be educated will be watching the programme

[celeste]

One of my theories is that show judges have something to answer to, perhaps if they didn't "put up" the more extreme examples of a breed then show breeders wouldn't breed for that look, such as Mastiff breeds being judged on huge heads with masses of useless skin, sometimes whats written as a breeds conformation isn't what is winning in the ring, due to a judges own preference. I realise not all judges are guilty of this and some brave souls are more concerned with health than others, but sadly I think they may be in the minority.

[celeste]

For some reason BBC Scotland have decided the Scots would much rather watch a double helping of River City and then My Family rather than the documentary ........................thank god for Sky

[cycas]

I think this is beyond puppy farming: I too cringe at the shapes of some of the dogs you see winning classes at Crufts. Dog is struggling to walk in a circle on a flat surface yet this is a good example of the breed? The bulldogs are the worst, but the Pekes always make me cringe too. You can't expect people to be choosing healthy dogs as pets if the premier televised dogshow run by the people who are supposed to know this sort of thing is effectively saying 'this is what this breed should look/act like' and making out that a dog that can barely walk, breathe or see is a fine example.

 

And I've thought for ages that this whole inbreeding thing was very dodgy: the dog world seems to make out that dog breeders have had for many years an understanding of the transmission of genetic traits that the science just has not been around long enough to explain. I thought when I first heard about 'line breeding' -"hang on, this makes no sense' it's nice to have it confirmed by a geneticist. I hope they will also look into the myth of conformation: can't tell how an animal works by looking to see if it is pretty, I know someone who works on the science of how animals move and walk, and it's just not that simple!

 

That Kennel Club statement reads to me as OMFG how dare they! but I think some public scrutiny and someone asking proper questions, not Foglesque happy rainbow burbling, is just what is needed.

Edited August 19, 2008 by cycas

[celeste]

Foglesque happy rainbow burbling, is just what is needed.

 

good one, I've often wondered why his dad dosen't say something to him about the health of some of these dogs

[Rudi]

Bassets used for hunting do look more like the original dog. I guess if you loose the function, you lose the form. A lot of the rotties I see about couldn't do a day's work, which they should be capable of. The downfall for dogs, I suspect, was when they started to become pets instead of workers and more rigid breed types became fixed. Simply by keeping breeds separate you run the risk of genetic disorders because an isolated population has been created. Even without extreme line breeding, I suspect that many of the conditions would still be present simply due to breeding populations being too small. Then you've got the ridiculous practice of everyone rushing to use the latest Champion and decreasing the gene pool futher. If people want to preserve breeds in as much health as possible then new blood is needed from outcrossing.

Edited August 19, 2008 by Rudi

[JACKYSIAN]

For some reason BBC Scotland have decided the Scots would much rather watch a double helping of River City and then My Family rather than the documentary ........................thank god for Sky

 

Oh thanks I didn't think of that, better check cos I doubt it will be on BBC 2 Wales either!

[Rudi]

Oh thanks I didn't think of that, better check cos I doubt it will be on BBC 2 Wales either!

 

It'll be on BBC I Player