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From The Times
August 19, 2008

Against pedigree breeding

Beverley Cuddy

I hope that Pedigree Dogs Exposed will do for dogs what Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Jamie Oliver did for poultry. Many of the scientists involved in making it fear that some of our most beloved breeds could be heading for extinction if something radical isn’t done.

Jemima Harrison is an experienced documentary maker but she tells me that this has been at times the most harrowing film to make and research. She has been branded as “evil” on numerous dog show internet forums. The Kennel Club (KC) is howling about bias – even before it has seen the film. But if it lived up to its own motto – “to promote in every way, the general improvement of dogs” – what could it possibly have to fear from a science-based documentary?

The truth is, the KC has been quietly making a dog’s breakfast of things ever since it started in 1873. For 20 years I’ve been nagging the KC to make health testing compulsory, for it to stop inbreeding and for it to stop judges rewarding obscenely exaggerated dogs. But it has not listened; it has been as deaf to criticism as the one in five dalmatians it registers (the gene that causes deafness is closely linked to the one that controls the roundness of the dalmatian’s spots – if breeders selected dogs with patches to breed from rather than ones with perfect spots, they wouldn’t be born deaf.) The KC has done as little as possible for as long as possible. That has to stop. It needs to start to fear the consequences of doing nothing. Beverley Cuddy is editor and publisher of Dogs Today

This has been a very unbalanced feature.
Your kennel club does an outstanding job on breeder & owner education. Don't base your decison on the actions of the few. Overall, you are a nation of dog lovers &exceptional breeders that are breeding physically and emotionally sound dogs.

Susan, Florida, USA

There was very little information on the types of illnesses that non-pedigree dogs are prone to, why? It is not right to put beauty ahead of health, but an hour long clip of negative information and no balance is simply silly "reporting".

Susanne, London,

If the Kennel Club were really concerned about the health of dogs, they could readily stop members breeding dogs known to carry genetic abnormalities. Good on the BBC for taking them on, and hopefully this will be the start of many happier and healthier dogs in future.

Melinda, Chatswood,

This has to stop! The Kennel Club now needs to take responsibility. We are a nation of dog lovers and to see how these dogs are suffering because of so called "Beauty" is shocking.

The health and well being of the dog MUST come first. This is surely obvious!

Linda, Southampton, UK

Gina, I am very glad to hear that. However when I see the way - for example - the English Bulldog has been physically changed over the last 150 years obviously to the detriment of the health of the breed, I wonder why the KC isn't doing something to reverse the situation?

Liz, London,

The KC looking into genetic disorders is like the oil companies looking into renewable energy.

Rob, Southampton, UK

And I hope that people will realise that the Kennel Club is doing all it can to look into genetic disorders in Dogs - lets not forget all the other hard work the KC does for all dogs, not to mention the Charitable Trust - which funds research into dog breeding on an annual basis.

Gina, London,

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