Kennel Club to change Pedigree Breed Standards

01 Feb 09

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In the fall-out of the highly controversial documentary about pedigree dog standards that have led to chronic ill health in certain dog breeds, the Kennel Club is changing breed standards. The campaign is called ‘Fit for Function: Fit for Life.’

Not everybody is happy about the change. British bulldogs are having their Kennel Club description updated so that they will have small heads and longer, leaner bodies and legs. Which makes animal health campaigners happy — but the British Bulldog Breed Council is threatening legal action against the Kennel Club.

According to Bulldog Breed Council chairman Robin Searle, “What you’ll get is a completely different dog, not a British bulldog.”

New breeding standards for 209 dog species have been brought into immediate effect after the BBC One documentary, Pedigree Dogs Exposed, raised the profile of the issue when broadcast last summer. Breeders have until the end of June to lodge objections.

The shake-up comes as one of the country’s leading zoologists and animal behaviour experts, Sir Patrick Bateson, announced that he would be heading an independent inquiry into dog breeding.

The Kennel Club is determined to show its commitment to dog welfare and has ordered the removal of characteristic features from some dogs. In a statement it said: “The breed standards have been revised so they will not include anything that could in any way be interpreted as encouraging features that might prevent a dog breathing, walking and seeing freely.”

The shar pei will lose the familiar folds of skin while the Clumber spaniel and the labrador retriever must stay slim to qualify as top show dogs. The flat faces of the Pekingese are no longer acceptable because they cause breathing difficulties. Other breeds to change are the bloodhound, German shepherd hound, basset hound, Saint Bernard, chow chow, the Dogue de Bordeaux and mastiff.

Judges at licensed dog shows have been instructed to use the new breed standards and to choose only the healthiest and best-adjusted dogs when deciding champions. Officials presiding at Crufts are under orders to expel from the competition any animal that shows signs of disease or deformity. Incestuous breeding of dogs (sometimes known as ‘line breeding’) is also to be banned.

Marc Abraham, veterinary adviser to the Kennel Club, said: “The changes will leave breeders and judges in no doubt about their responsibilities to safeguard the health and welfare of dogs, first and foremost.”

Jemima Harrison, of Passionate Productions, which made Pedigree Dogs Exposed, said that the changes were “hugely welcome and long overdue” but that it would take years to put right all the problems.

But Beverley Cuddy, Editor of Dogs Today magazine, was sceptical: “It sounds impressive but remember judges are also the breeders. It’s like asking shoplifters to police themselves.”

Sir Patrick, president of the Zoological Society of London, said yesterday that he wished to appoint a small committee of experts, including a veterinary surgeon and a geneticist, to help his inquiry into breeding techniques.

He will also review the registration and showing of dogs, and hopes to complete his report by the autumn.

Only time will tell how effective these new breed standard descriptions will be in relation to improving the health of dogs in Great Britain and around the world!

Awoof! Archie