杏吧原创

Winston Churchill may well turn in his grave at the news, but the dog breed that symbolises his grit and pugnacity may be on the way out, at least in Britain.

The UK Kennel Club, representing British dog breeders, issued on 12 January that could banish hallmark features of bulldogs and other breeds, on the grounds that they鈥檙e cruel and disabling for the dogs themselves.

The new regulations make complete sense to me from an animal welfare perspective. So well done the Kennel Club, which spells out the .

It did make me reflect, however, on how such cruelties have been tolerated and even encouraged without public condemnation for so many years, even though the objective of breeding is one purely of human vanity.

It seems unfair that, while people who breed freakish animals to satisfy vain and frivolous objectives have got away with it, scientists who experiment on animals with the arguably more noble objective of developing medicine to reduce suffering have been pilloried by extremists.

Fierce creatures

Unfair it may seem, but at least the Kennel club has finally acted to stamp out those freakish dog features that we鈥檝e tolerated till now.

Take the classic British bulldog. They may look fierce, but many actually find it very difficult to breathe, breed and move because of their exaggerated features.

From now on, the bulldog鈥檚 unusually broad skull, huge 鈥淐hurchillian鈥� jowls, and tiny front legs will be off the breeding menu, as will other features that make life difficult for the dogs. 鈥淏ones of legs should be large and straight, not bandy or curved and short in proportion to the hindlegs,鈥� say the new rules.

Bulldog breeders were saying that 鈥渨hat you鈥檒l get is a completely different dog, not a British bulldog鈥�. But that cuts no ice with the Kennel Club, whose new rules aim 鈥渢o ensure that all dogs are healthy, of good temperament and fit for their original function鈥�.

From now on, judges at dog shows will have to mark down any features which, like those in the bulldog, hamper the health and wellbeing of dogs. 鈥淏reed standards鈥�will not include anything that could in any way be interpreted as encouraging features that might prevent a dog from breathing, walking and seeing freely鈥�, say the new rules.

Healthy pooches only

In other breeds, tummies of basset hounds mustn鈥檛 drag dangerously close to the ground. Bloodhounds should no longer display those hallmark saggy folds, and nor should basset hounds and Shar Pei dogs.

Obesity鈥檚 out too. Labradors and clumber spaniels will now be marked down, not up, for excess weight, and tiny-ness as a virtue is out for 鈥渢oy鈥� breeds such as chihuahuas. Likewise, pug dogs shouldn鈥檛 have noses 鈥渁dversely affected or obscured by their over-nose wrinkle鈥�.

The changes are the latest part of the Kennel Club鈥檚 鈥淔it for function, fit for life鈥� campaign. It warns that 鈥渋n assessing dogs, judges must penalise any features or exaggerations which they consider would be detrimental to the soundness, health or wellbeing of the dog鈥�.

It will be interesting to see whether they stick to this at the next Crufts exhibition this March.

Dog breeders are now involved in research to explore the genetics of canine diseases, which can provide insights into the genetic roots of human disease. Let鈥檚 hope their involvement in scientific projects will not make them targets for antivivisectionists, who鈥檝e been strangely silent on the suffering of traditional dog breeds.