More than a few wrinkles at Crufts...
While we loved the Best in Show winner, in other areas there is still considerable room for improvement - check out Jemima Harrison's blog http://pedigreedogsexposed.blogspot.com/2011/03/parade-of-mutants.html and then read this letter just in from the RSPCA.
And if you look at the jaw-dropping comments on Jemima's blog you'll see there seems to be a hard core of people who seem to think there's nothing wrong with Neapolitan Mastiffs....the most frequent entry to our monthly caption competition comes to mind, "should have gone to Specsavers?" I can't look at those photos without getting upset - and remember these are the creme de la creme....
Open letter to Kennel Club chief executive Rosemary Smart.
I am writing to express the RSPCA’s grave concern about the coverage of Crufts on More 4 during which interviewees and presenters repeatedly gave the message that pedigree dogs, including those shown at Crufts, are happy and healthy.
This is misleading to the public and extremely disappointing as we had hoped the coverage would be open and honest about the serious health and welfare issues that continue to affect many pedigree dogs, without glossing over the issues. After all, this is one of the biggest challenges facing dog welfare in the UK today.
Many pedigree dogs remain vulnerable to unnecessary disease, disability, pain or behavioural problems because they’re bred primarily for how they look rather than with health, welfare or temperament in mind.
Indeed, footage of some of the dogs at Crufts this year demonstrated the exaggerated features that we are so concerned about. As just one example, during the judging of the Working Group the commentators said that a dog was free from exaggerations. The dog in question clearly had extremely folded skin and drooping eyelids, which can lead to suffering.
Three reports on the welfare problems associated with dog breeding have been published in the UK in the last two years, and the conclusions of each are very clear – urgent action is needed to safeguard the welfare of pedigree dogs.
Although some progress has been made by the dog world, it has not been nearly enough and the problems are far from being solved. Both experts and the various reports on this issue recognise that it will take decades before the problems really begin to be resolved – and only then if sufficient effort is made by everyone in the dog world.
It is extremely misleading to suggest not only that the problems have been solved after only two years, but that pedigree dogs are happy and healthy.
Yours sincerely
Mark Watts
Chief Executive
RSPCA
Wilberforce Way
Southwater
Horsham
West Sussex
RH13 9RS
And if you look at the jaw-dropping comments on Jemima's blog you'll see there seems to be a hard core of people who seem to think there's nothing wrong with Neapolitan Mastiffs....the most frequent entry to our monthly caption competition comes to mind, "should have gone to Specsavers?" I can't look at those photos without getting upset - and remember these are the creme de la creme....
Open letter to Kennel Club chief executive Rosemary Smart.
I am writing to express the RSPCA’s grave concern about the coverage of Crufts on More 4 during which interviewees and presenters repeatedly gave the message that pedigree dogs, including those shown at Crufts, are happy and healthy.
This is misleading to the public and extremely disappointing as we had hoped the coverage would be open and honest about the serious health and welfare issues that continue to affect many pedigree dogs, without glossing over the issues. After all, this is one of the biggest challenges facing dog welfare in the UK today.
Many pedigree dogs remain vulnerable to unnecessary disease, disability, pain or behavioural problems because they’re bred primarily for how they look rather than with health, welfare or temperament in mind.
Indeed, footage of some of the dogs at Crufts this year demonstrated the exaggerated features that we are so concerned about. As just one example, during the judging of the Working Group the commentators said that a dog was free from exaggerations. The dog in question clearly had extremely folded skin and drooping eyelids, which can lead to suffering.
Three reports on the welfare problems associated with dog breeding have been published in the UK in the last two years, and the conclusions of each are very clear – urgent action is needed to safeguard the welfare of pedigree dogs.
Although some progress has been made by the dog world, it has not been nearly enough and the problems are far from being solved. Both experts and the various reports on this issue recognise that it will take decades before the problems really begin to be resolved – and only then if sufficient effort is made by everyone in the dog world.
It is extremely misleading to suggest not only that the problems have been solved after only two years, but that pedigree dogs are happy and healthy.
Yours sincerely
Mark Watts
Chief Executive
RSPCA
Wilberforce Way
Southwater
Horsham
West Sussex
RH13 9RS
Comments
We also take in large numbers of dogs whose "time is up" in local authority kennels.
BUT our first duty is towards the animals who have been taken in as a result of decisions made by frontline staff. It would be absolutely unacceptable if we were to put them down in order to make space to admit animals whose owners have decided they do not want them.
For real cruelty look to the puppy farmers, the food production industries and the indiscriminate backstreet breeders. Here you'll find all the problems you want but these don't have the media kudos the RSPCA so deeply crave.
I still have a photograph produced in the eighties for a RSPCA magazine ad. It shows a pile of over 1000 real dead dogs representing the weekly cull of this "so caring" organisation. The corpses used in the shoot were supplied without any difficulty by just a few local RSPCA "rescue" centres.
In more recent times the organisations own chairperson declared pubically that the RSPCA saw itself as a campaigning organisation not a hands on welfare body. Where is she now...no idea, but I guess her term of tenure at the RSPCA would have helped further her very lucrative career in the "voluntary" sector. I wonder what Mark Watts plans are?
As far as the RSPCA itself is concerned isn't it about time it told the truth about it's motives and activities. How many dogs are still being put down every year? How many cases of real cruelty in puppy farms are still being ignored? How many cases of street cruelty will remain un-investigated. It's time the RSPCA opened itself up to investigation, afterall, it swallows up rather a large amount of money provided by millions of well meaning individuals who have duly swallowed all the lies.
I choose not to comment on the RSPCA.
HQ don't break up treatments by species, but if the overall figures are similar to the ones we recorded at Cambridge dogs appear to be twice as likely as cats to need treatment. (2,786 vs 1,243 in 2010).
That's quite a strong suggestion that the more outbred species tends to be healthier overall, and quite often we only find out that a regular dog owner also has cats when one of the cats needs treatment for an injury.
It's not proof that more natural animals are healthier because the figures may simply mean that people on benefits are more likely to own dogs than cats (because they're at home for more of the time).
Apart from clinical research done at RSPCA hospitals the RSPCA also provides financial support for VEctAR
http://www.rvc.ac.uk/VEctAR/Research/RSPCA.cfm