Pugs and French Bulldogs could be banned across the UK over concerns about ‘dangerous over-breeding’. This new crackdown against legal breeding comes after leading pet charity, Blue Cross, accused breeders of promoting a “vicious cycle of over-breeding”. Such breeding has led to serious health woes concerning flat-faced Pugs.
According to Blue Cross, 20% of dogs in the UK are now flat-faced breeds leading to various health issues include eye and skin disease, obstructed breathing and spinal deformities.
In addition, some Frenchies can be diagnosed with genetic conditions such as pulmonic stenosis, which is where the dog has 3/6 heart murmur. The charity also claim to have treated over 5,000 brachycephalic pets within the last two years alone.
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“We have already started contacting MPs,” stated Becky Thwaites, Head of public affairs at Blue Cross, to The Sun, “Ultimately Blue Cross is determined to see the end of the poor breeding of flat-faced dogs and are considering all options both legislative and non-legislative to achieve this."
Calls to ban ‘over-breeding’ of such dogs in Britain follow similar calls in Australia to ban flat-faced breeds because “their basic existence is one of suffering”. Currently, there are four breeds of dog that are banned in the UK. These canines include the Pit Bull Terrier, Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino and Fila Brasileiro.
In the meantime, Blue Cross has called for UK breeders to hold mandatory certification issued by vets to protect and ensure animals do not health problems that could be passed down through breeding.
