Sept 16, 2008

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article4761471.ece

The RSPCA cut its links with Crufts yesterday as a leading charity warned the organisers of the dog show that they must act to prevent the breeding of “deformed and disabled” animals.

The BBC, which has broadcast the show for 40 years, is also thought to be on the verge of deciding whether to continue its coverage. The sponsors of the show await its decision.

The RSPCA's decision to relinquish its stand at Crufts in March next year follows a BBC documentary, broadcast last month, that highlighted the genetic side-effects of intensive breeding programmes.

Some unhealthy, inbred animals have won prizes at the show, the programme suggested. A prize-winning Cavalier King Charles spaniel was shown to be suffering from syringomyelia, a painful condition that results from the animal's skull being too small for its brain. A Pekingese, bred to possess a perfectly flat face, and winner of Best in Show in 2003, was found to have had surgery — a soft palate resection — to enable it to breathe.

The programme also featured pugs that had difficulty breathing, boxers with complicated health problems, and bulldogs that were unable to give birth unassisted.
The chairman of the Kennel Club, which organises Crufts, was filmed voicing his approval of incestuous inbreeding, as long as it took place between mother and son.

Mark Evans, chief veterinary advisor to the RSPCA, called yesterday for a shift away from the rigid breeding standards that focus on small points of appearance. “Dog shows using current breed standards as the main judging criteria actively encourage both the intentional breeding of deformed and disabled dogs and the inbreeding of closely related animals,” he said.

“There is compelling scientific evidence that the health and welfare of hundreds of thousands of pedigree dogs is seriously compromised as a result. From a dog health and welfare perspective, such shows are fundamentally flawed and do our much loved pedigree dogs no favours.

“Breeding deformed and disabled animals is morally unjustifiable and has to stop.”

Britain's leading canine charity, the Dogs Trust, is also considering pulling out of next year's show. Clarissa Baldwin, its chief executive, told The Times: “It would be a shame if we didn't have a voice there, but we would expect to see some really robust responses from the Kennel Club about what they are going to do.

“They have a certified breeder programme, which is full of pitfalls, the main one being that it's self-certificating. We need proper inspections.”

She also called for an end to the killing of puppies that do not meet dog show breed standards. “We are horrified by the culling of dogs,” she said. “That has to stop. The culling of the Rhodesian ridgebacks that don't have the ridge, the dalmatians whose spots are in the wrong place.”

The Kennel Club accused the RSPCA of making unhelpful statements. “The Kennel Club invests a great deal of time, money and care into the area of pedigree health,” a spokeswoman said. “This includes grants, via its charitable trust, into developing health screening for dogs.”

It had recently donated £48,000 to the RSPCA to improve dog welfare and would continue to work with the charity “despite their stated position”.

The spokeswoman said that, according to the Kennel Club's own survey, 90 per cent of pedigree dogs did not suffer from health problems that would have a detrimental effect on their quality of life. She said that breed standards were under continual review, to ensure that they encouraged the breeding of healthy dogs.

A spokesman for the BBC, which has a contract to broadcast the show for the next two years said that the issue of its continuing coverage was “on the agenda”.

Any decision to withdraw or limit the coverage could be devastating for sponsors of Crufts, which include Samsung and various pet food companies. Barclays, which supported the show this year, said the sponsorship was a one-off and would not be repeated.

CASE STUDY: Our puppy just lay down and died

In Diane Andrews's home in Walton-on-Thames there is a portrait of Henry, a pedigree boxer dog the family bought as a puppy in February last year.

“He was red with lovely white paws, like socks,” she said. “He was a beautiful puppy.”

In January, her husband and son were out walking the dog when he lay down and died. “You don't expect that to happen to a one-year-old dog,” Mrs Andrews said. She got Henry from a breeder, complete with breed certificates testifying to his lineage, for £650. “I would like to think they would guarantee his health,” she said. “I had asked if the parents had heart disease. I was told no, but I didn't see any certificates.”

For a few months Henry appeared to be healthy. In August he showed signs of sickness and was found to have a heart murmur and sub-aortic stenosis, a genetic heart condition. “The vet said it was the worst case she had ever seen in a puppy,” she said.

The breeder claimed that all the other puppies in the litter had turned out healthy, though boxers are notorious for health problems.

Mrs Andrews said: “It's because breeders are trying to conform to the breed standard. There are good breeders out there, and we have since bought one, Charlie, who had certificates to prove that his parents had heart testing.”

Mrs Andrews, who goes to dog shows and is one of the three million viewers who tune into Crufts each year, was shocked by the documentary. “I keep boxers, and my daughter has a King Charles spaniel and now she's worried about him. He seems healthy, but it seems we couldn't have picked two worse dogs.”