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Decade Of Campaigning Sees Significant Decline In Flat-faced Dog Registrations
3 days ago 
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Dog welfare groups and vets welcome signs that public demand for flat-faced dogs is waning
The UK Brachycephalic Working Group (BWG) has welcomed newly released registration data from the Royal Kennel Club (RKC), highlighting a sustained decline in the number of pedigree flat-faced (brachycephalic) dogs being registered. This trend reflects the impact of a decade of sustained collaborative work across many groups in the breeding, welfare, academic and veterinary sectors to improve dog welfare.
Following a long-standing BWG campaign to encourage the UK public to ‘stop and think before buying a flat-faced dog’, RKC registrations across the three key flat-faced dog breeds have fallen markedly over the past ten years. The most dramatic reduction has been seen in Pug registrations, which have declined by 92% (from 10,408 in 2016 to 834 in 2025). French Bulldog registrations have decreased by 64% (from 21,470 to 7,750), while English Bulldog registrations have dropped by 65% (from 7,785 to 2,711).
More recent figures show that these drops in flat-faced dogs have continued year-on-year well above the underlying reducing levels of overall RKC registrations. The RKC registrations fell overall from 187,772 in 2024 to 158,901 in 2025 - a decrease of approximately 15%. However, the three key flat-faced breeds saw much sharper declines than the overall trend, indicating a disproportionate reduction in their popularity within the registered population: with 2025 registrations for French Bulldogs down 44%, Bulldogs down 30%, and Pugs down 37% compared to 2024.
The BWG, made up of veterinary and national animal welfare organisations, scientists, and dog breed clubs, broadly welcomes these figures as a positive indicator that sustained efforts to prioritise health and welfare are beginning to take effect.
Prof Dan O’Neill, chair of BWG commented:
“After a decade of BWG campaigning, it is heartening to see signs that the British public as a nation of animal lovers are recognising and taking action to ensure no dog suffers due to selective breeding for a flat-faced look. We urge the British public to continue to ‘Stop and think before buying a flat-faced dog’ whether RKC registered or not.”
Over the past decade, BWG has strongly encouraged prospective owners to ‘stop and think before buying a flat-faced dog’ and to make informed purchasing decisions by seeking out responsible breeders who prioritise health by only breeding dogs with non-extreme body shapes. Brachycephalic breeds, including the French Bulldog, English Bulldog and Pug, are often characterised by their distinctively flat faces. These features, particularly when exaggerated to meet aesthetic trends regrettably popularised by celebrity and social media culture, can be linked to significant health and welfare issues. Alongside breathing difficulties, eye conditions and heat intolerance, many flat-faced dogs may also experience problems associated with other extreme conformations, including excessive skin folds, spinal abnormalities and congenital short tails.
The BWG has advocated for a decade for increased awareness of the many major health and welfare issues for these dogs, alongside responsible breeding practices that prioritise a healthy functional body shape over appearance. The latest figures suggest that this decade of campaigning around the welfare implications of extreme conformation, including the British Veterinary Association’s ‘Breed to Breathe’ campaign and the Blue Cross’s ‘End the Trend’ campaign, may be resonating with prospective dog owners. Campaigns such as Battersea’s new ‘Cost of Cute’ are seeking to help further drive this shift by laying bare the hidden and often serious health and welfare consequences linked to exaggerated physical traits.
Caroline Jenkins, Head of Campaigns at Battersea, said:
"The registration data is a promising sign that the public demand for flat-faced dogs may be decreasing, however among younger owners our research shows that expectations of how animals should look, behave and be treated are changing with a ‘new normal’ emerging. Pets that have exaggerated features remain incredibly popular on social media and online sales platforms - yet our social media feeds rarely show the full picture. What many people don’t realise is that these ‘cute’ physical aesthetics can, and very often do, have a serious impact on an animal’s health and welfare, such as breathing problems or reduced mobility. As a result, owners can face both significant financial costs and the emotional costs of seeing their pet suffer, in some cases, the heartbreaking decision to relinquish their pet to rescue centres like Battersea. To tackle the growing issue of extreme characteristics in pets, the Cost of Cute campaign aims to challenge harmful trends and empower the next generation of owners to choose healthy pets.”
Dr. Elizabeth Mullineaux, British Veterinary Association Senior Vice President, said:
“We saw a huge explosion in the popularity of flat-faced dogs at the start of the last decade, fuelled largely by social media and celebrity influencers. These new figures are an encouraging sign that campaigns such as BVA’s #BreedToBreathe and collaborative work by the BWG are beginning to have a positive impact on demand. Of course, we know that there’s a large population of flat-faced dogs who aren’t RKC registered who’re being bred and brought across the UK, or being imported from abroad, so there’s still work to be done to tackle irresponsible breeding and to improve the overall welfare of these breeds. Our advice to anyone looking to get a puppy continues to be to prioritise health over looks.”
The BWG continues to work collaboratively across sectors to address the complex welfare challenges associated with brachycephalic dogs, combining scientific research, veterinary guidance, and public education.
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