Pedigree Dogs Exposed Documentary
September 13th 2009 21:00
What an eye opener this documentary was. I turned on the ABC channel last Thursday expecting to see some documentary about how wonderful show dogs are and instead was confronted by several experts saying pedigree dogs in the UK have been inbred to the point where they are in danger of extinction. One scary statistic cited was that out of the 10,000 pugs that are in the UK, only fifty of them are distinct individuals or have distinct DNA. The reason for this is due to the widespread incestuous matings; it is common for breeders to use parent/child or brother/sister matings. What society would find revolting in the human world is accepted in the dog (and cat) breeding world.
This results in genetic problems being passed from generation to generation. For example, the German Shepherd that is dog show quality has back legs that are shorter than the front ones, causing it to walk with an unstable gait. The Pug’s prized corkscrew tail is directly related to curvature of the spine. It is common for the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel to have syringomyelia, a genetic deformity where the skull is too small for the growing brain, causing neurological problems.
What surprised me was how callous some breeders shown can be. I had always thought breeders were passionate about their animals and although they were determined to conform to the breed standard, they still cared about their animals. How wrong I was. One Rhodesian Ridgeback breeder said if any of her puppies were born ridge less she would have it put to sleep. She said she had problems getting her request met by younger vets as they thought it was unethical to put down an otherwise healthy animal (and rightly so).
For those of you who missed it, the video is below. Be warned that there are some scenes which may disturb animal lovers but don’t let you put that off. It is compelling viewing.
Documentary - BBC - Pedigree Dogs Exposed
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