This programme can be viewed Tuesday the 19th of August at 9pm on BBC1.
This following press release came in from BBC1
BBC ONE REVEALS THE SHOCKING TRUTH ABOUT PEDIGREE DOG BREEDING IN THEUK
A pug gasps for breath, his face so flat he damages his eyes if he bumps into things; a cavalier king charles spaniel writhes in agony and must be put to sleep to end its pain; a distraught owner holds his beloved boxer who is fitting uncontrollably… Two years in the making, Pedigree Dogs Exposed (Tuesday 19 August at 9pm on BBC One) lifts the lid on the true extent of health and welfare problems in pedigree dogs in theUK.
Seventy five per cent of the seven million dogs in theUKare pedigrees, and they cost theirowners over 10m in vet fees every week. This in-depth investigation suggests they are in serious trouble, plagued by genetic disease due to decades of inbreeding.They are also suffering acute problems because of the showrings emphasis on looks over and above function and health. Some physical traits required by the Kennel Clubs breed standards have inherent health problems (short faces, wrinkling, screw-tails, dwarfism) while other problems occur because of exaggerations bred into dogs by breeders trying to win rosettes.
Deliberate mating of dogs that are close relatives is common practice and the Kennel Club continues to register dogs bred from mother-to-son and brother-to-sister matings. Scientists atImperialCollege,London, recently found that pugs in theUKare so inbred that although there are 10,000 of them, it is the equivalent of just 50 distinct individuals making them more genetically compromised than the giant panda.
Steve Jones, Professor of Genetics, UCL, says: People are carrying out breeding which would be first of all be entirely illegal in humans and secondly is absolutely insane from the point of view of the health of the animals. He adds: In some breeds they are paying a terrible, terrible price in genetic disease.
The film exposes the devastating consequences of such genetic disease for dogs and the distress it causes their owners. Disturbing footage is shown of a cavalier king charles spaniel writhing in agony due to syringomyelia, estimated to affect up to a third of the breed. They have been bred with skulls too small for their brains, explains veterinary neurologist Clare Rusbridge: The cavaliers brain is like a size 10 foot that has been shoved into a size 6 shoe it doesnt fit.
Boxers suffer from several life-threatening health issues including heart disease and a very highrate of cancer, especially brain tumours. There are no official figures to say how many boxers suffer from epilepsy, but in some breeds it is 20 times the rate found in humans. Two year old Zak is filmed while fitting, and the distress the disease causes for him and his owners is obvious.
The film also demonstrates how some breeders produce dogs with pronounced physical attributes – exaggerations – in their efforts to attract a dog show judges eye. The breed standards are set by the Kennel Club but are open to interpretation and the film shows how, as fashion changes, so do the dogs, leading to serious health and welfare problems in some breeds. Bulldogs, for example, have been bred to be such an unnatural shape that most can no longer mate or give birth unassisted.
The RSPCAs Chief Vet Mark Evans says: The show world is about an obsession, about beauty, and there is a ridiculous concept that that is how we should judge dogs It takes no account of your temperament, your fitness for purpose potentially as a pet animal and that to me just makes absolutely no sense at all.
The film also exposes famous show champions that continue to father puppies despite having serious inherited disease, and demonstrates that some breeders cull perfectly healthy puppies on purely cosmetic grounds.
As the filmmaker Jemima becomes increasingly concerned with what she uncovers, she challenges the Kennel Club. The Kennel Club, however, robustly defends its position as the guardian of dog health, pointing out the initiatives it has taken to improve pedigree dog health including their accredited breeder scheme which sets a code of conduct for breeders and asks them to make use of health screening schemes. It also insists that the vast majority of dog breeds are healthy.
Ultimately, the film concludes that far from enough is being done. As Professor Jones says: If the dog breeders insist on going further down that road, I can say with confidence really that there is a universe of suffering waiting for many of these breeds and many if not most of these breeds will not survive. They will get so inbred that they will be unable to reproduce and their genes will come to a dead end.
Notes:
Pedigree Dogs Exposed will be shown on Tuesday 19 August at 9pm on BBC One.
The Kennel Clubs two main functions is to administer the registry that records the lineage of pedigree dogs, divided by breed, and to license the majority of dog shows in the UK, including Crufts. It also owns The Kennel Club Breed Standard, which lays down the characteristics and physical attributes necessary for each breed and it is involved in many different canine activities from agility competitions to obedience training to funding scientific research into dogs via its Charitable Trust.
|
Comments
This programme has been made by people who know nothing about dogs, pedigree or otherwise, and who are just out to sensationalise. They say nothing about the contibutions in time and money made by breeders to organisations trying to help the situation and right the wrongs done in ignorance by breeders decades ago. These statistics are so way off being accurate it would be laughable if it was not so serious.
This is gutter journalism of the worst kind.
I must disagree with you Lesley. The person who made the program is heavely involved in rescue work both here and in the UK. She has taken many dogs to be rehomed from rescues here and knows her facts. It’s a pity that there are so many breeders who continue to stick their head in the sand when it comes to the health of their dogs. Everything the program contained is fact. We need change and we need it fast otherwise breeds like the Cavalier and the Pug will cease to exist. Thank you Mick for your post it is so refreshing to hear from someone who challenges and questions