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| French Bulldogs |
Animal welfare groups criticized the cruel selective breeding for the "tenderness" of some of Australia's most popular "baby-faced" dogs, including French bulldogs, and called for partial bans.
The Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) wants any dog with 'a muzzle length less than a third of the length of the skull' to be banned from breeding or shown in new guidelines due to the suffering caused.
Dogs with these characteristics are often very popular, but the impacts are so horrific and painful that they are now referred to as "brachycephalic breeds" because they suffer from Obstructive Brachycephalic Airway Syndrome (BOAS), among many health problems.
Animal welfare groups have criticised the cruel selective breeding for the "tenderness" of some of Australia's most popular "baby-faced" dogs, including French bulldogs and pugs, and called for partial bans.
Åshild Roaldset said the ban on British Bulldogs and King Charles Cavalier Spaniels was "a victory for our dogs".
"BOAS affects the animal's ability to breathe, exercise, thermoregulate, sleep, play, and engage in other normal behaviors," the VPA says.
The proof that the VPA says you should see a dog banned from breeding or exhibiting is whether the length of the muzzle is less than one-third of its skull.
Some selective offspring of 'corkscrew tails', including in pugs, have been associated with spinal and neurological problems in the breed.
The AVA is now calling for a partial ban on King Charles Cavalier Spaniel, Pugs, Boston Terriers, French Bulldogs and British Bulldogs.
"It would be a 'partial ban' on reproduction. That is, dogs severely affected with brachycephaly, or affected AT ALL by a spinal deformity, should not be bred or shown," explained AVA spokesman Dr. David Neck.
All of those dogs are among Australia's 20 most popular breeds, but backyard breeders have deformed them for many years.
In many cases, dogs do not resemble the same breeds from a few decades ago and health problems arose due to breeding.
The RSPCA said the cumulative harmful health effects of selective breeding were so harmful that some of the affected dog types now need to be "crossed" with other breeds to repair the damage to the breed.
"This may be necessary to effectively moderate exaggerated characteristics and restore breeds to a physical type that is healthy."
Animal charity Four Paws claimed that 97 per cent of Cavs suffer a sad array of symptoms because their upbringing compresses their brains.
It is estimated that 97 percent of Cavalier King Charles Spaniels suffer from disorders that can lead to severe headaches, vision problems, balance problems, dizziness and even hearing loss.
Pugs are one of the most popular breeds in Australia, but they have been selectively bred, sometimes by unregistered illegal breeders, to shorten their faces and make them look "prettier". But animals develop painful and costly health problems.
This historical image of a pug shows how different the breed used to look before hundreds of years of selective breeding.
"With the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, the small size of the skull for which they were bred reduces the space required for the entire brain to fit," Four Paws said in a statement.
"As a result, the brain is compressed leading to two different disorders, syringomyelia and Chiari malformation, which have been identified in 97 percent of these dogs. Symptoms include severe headaches, vision problems, balance problems, dizziness and even hearing loss.'
British Bulldogs and King Charles 'Cavs' were recently banned in a landmark court decision in Norway.
The case was taken to court by Animal Protection Norway.
Åshild Roaldset, who runs the charity, said: 'This is first and foremost a victory for our dogs.'
The Australian Veterinary Association wants all breeders to be required to disclose health issues to buyers before selling the affected breeds.
"It's a historic verdict that attracts international attention. The health problems caused by the bulldog man have been known since the early twentieth century. But dogs have the right to be bred healthy.
The lifelong health issues dogs face can routinely cost owners thousands in airway surgery costs and daily medications.
"In Western Australia, BOAS airway surgery would be expected to cost between $1,500 and $2,500 and diaphragm repair for sliding hiatal hernia would cost more than $1,500," Dr Neck explained.
"Much of this will depend on follow-up care, some animals will need intensive follow-up more than 24 hours later, and it should be noted that this is not benign surgery."
That means many of the dogs that undergo surgery will die in surgery or after an operation.
"Some conditions, such as the hypoplastic (underdeveloped) trachea in British Bulldogs, just can't be fixed," Dr. Neck said.
The main organisation promoting breeding and display, Dogs Australia, blamed 'rogue' and 'illegal' breeders who breed litters of Pugs, French Bulldogs and Poodle crosses.
"Illegal breeders are advertised on the internet and can usually only be contacted via a mobile phone, making it virtually impossible for regulators to find them," he told the Daily Mail Australia.
"They ignore government requirements to obtain a breeder identification number because they know they can't be traced, meaning there's no pressure on them to look at health and wellness issues regarding their broodstock."
Boston terriers are one of the breeds affected by breathing difficulties due to selective breeding
French bulldogs used to look before breeding and had their muzzles cut off, which caused them severe breathing difficulties.
The RSPCA called on dog show organizations to comply with calls to stop exhibiting dogs whose health is severely affected by harmful breeding.
'[We are] calling for urgent changes to the evaluation criteria in the exhibition ring, such as rewarding health as a priority (rather than rewarding physical appearance) and new rules to ensure that dogs with exaggerated characteristics are not shown,' the RSPCA said.
The VPA also wants to see changes to the law that force all dog breeders to be honest about the health conditions of dogs or face penalties and bans.
"The VPA would like the law to require breeders to sincerely disclose health and wellness issues that occur with brachycephalic breeds to owners," the VPA said.
"We recommend that dog owners facing brachycephalic breeds be fully informed about the health and wellness implications of common brachycephalic disorders, including the potential costs associated with managing these disorders."
Affected breeds include: Pugs, Akitas, Alaskan Malamutes, Chow-Chows, Siberian Huskies and Spitz dogs.
The RSPCA said some 'breed standards' actually incorporate features that make dogs suffer.
"Often, these exaggerated characteristics are part of the 'breed standards' pedigree for that dog breed even though they cause health and wellness issues," he said in a statement.
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The problem with brachycephalic or flat-faced dog breeds
Dogs have been selectively bred for their tenderness, but they suffer breathing difficulties and many other health effects as a result of exaggeratedly flattened faces.
Health impacts include:
Brachycephalic airway obstruction syndrome (BOAS) and abnormalities of the vertebral body.
BOAS affects the animal's ability to breathe, exercise, thermoregulate, sleep, play, and engage in other normal behaviors.
Abnormalities of the vertebral body occur through the selection of a tail in the form of "corkscrews" and can lead to neurological problems.
The breeds of greatest concern for BOAS include:
- French Bulldog
- King Charles' Spaniel
- Doguillo
- boston terrier
- British bulldog
There is also concern about breeding 'corkscrew' tails, which may include these breeds:
- Pugs
- Akita
- Malamute from Alaska
- Chow-chow
- Siberian Husky
- Pomeranian dog
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