The Kennel Club Has Identified 15 ‘high Profile’ Breeds With Visible Conditions That May Cause Health Or Welfare Concerns

Click on image to enlarge. Click again to close Since their 'Born To Suffer' campaign at the end of December last year, more than 16,000 people have signed the RSPCA's petition calling for pedigree dog breed standards to be reviewed and for health and welfare to be put above looks. Their plan is to present the final petition numbers to the Kennel Club as a demonstration of the scale of public support for a review of the breed standards. Meanwhile, the RSPCA has taken a closer look at the 15 ‘high profile’ breeds identified by the Kennel Club and have produced a guide to some of the health and welfare problems these popular dogs endure As part of their Born To Suffer campaign, the RSPCA wants to see an end to the irresponsible breeding of all dogs, including pedigrees. The RSPCA is extremely concerned that dogs are bred for looks at the expense of their health and welfare and have found that people are genuinely shocked when they discover how this can impact dogs’ health. One key concern is that ‘KC registered’, often seen as the kitemark for quality, doesn’t always take health and welfare into account:

• Research carried out by the RSPCA shows that a significant percentage of people think that ‘pedigree’ stands for quality, which has led to confusion over what the term ‘KC registered’ means.
• In fact, although ‘KC registered’ records the dog’s parentage, it does not guarantee that the dog is healthy or has been bred responsibly.
• The Kennel Club has put some measures in place to improve pedigree dog health, but we think the confusion about what ‘KC registered’ really means is critical.

Find out more about 'The meaning of pedigree' on the RSPCA website

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