The BBC has decided to scrap television coverage of Crufts dog show next year because it could not run the risk of a deformed or diseased dog becoming supreme champion.

The broadcaster demanded that 12 breeds linked to inherited genetic disease be dropped from the show as a condition for nightly coverage of the four-day event. After advice from a panel of experts, the BBC wished to bar from the screen the Clumber spaniel, basset hound, bloodhound, dogue de Bordeaux, mastiff, Neapolitan mastiff, Pekingese, shar-pei, chow chow, German shepherd, bulldog, St Bernard, Cavalier King Charles spaniel and Rhodesian ridgeback.

The uncompromising demands, which the Kennel Club refused to meet, came after the furore over the documentary Pedigree Dogs Exposed on BBC One in the summer. This featured a prize-winning Cavalier King Charles spaniel with syringomyelia, a condition that occurs when a dog’s skull is too small for its brain. It also showed boxers with epilepsy, pugs with breathing problems and bulldogs unable to mate or give natural birth.

The BBC’s decision had been widely predicted. Some observers suggested that the future of the show was in jeopardy after the Pedigree pet food company withdrew its sponsorship.

Ronnie Irving, the chairman of the Kennel Club, insisted that the show would go on even though he was unable to accept the “insupportable” conditions imposed by the BBC.

The club disagrees with the “at-risk breeds” list, especially as it is already revising pedigree standards for 209 breeds to be in force next year.

An independent inquiry into pedigree breeding is to begin shortly and judges for the next Crufts, at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, on March 5 to 8, have also been instructed to award prizes to healthy dogs.

The BBC is understood to have been on the brink of announcing that it was dropping Crufts for good, not just next year’s show, but held back because of the competition’s importance. A source said: “Dropping it is very much on the agenda if they do not rectify the problems.”

Senior BBC staff believe that it will bring Crufts back to the screen only if the RSPCA gives the Kennel Club its backing. The BBC and the Kennel Club are now involved in legal wrangling over whether another channel should be offered the chance to cover next year’s show. ITV, Channel 4 and Five are not interested.

The BBC, which has covered the event for 42 years, knows that the decision will disappoint many viewers. Last year’s highlights attracted an audience of 14.5 million.

Caroline Kisko, secretary at the club, said: “For 40 years we have had supposedly unhealthy dogs and now, when everyone is trying to sort out the problems, the BBC has decided to move away. They could have helped our case by promoting healthy dogs. It is very sad and we find it illogical.”

Mark Evans, for the RSPCA, said that the BBC decision reflected serious scientific and public concern.

CASE STUDY: our puppy just lay down and died

In Diane Andrews's home in Walton-on-Thames there is a portrait of Henry, a pedigree boxer dog the family bought as a puppy in February last year.

“He was red with lovely white paws, like socks,” she said. “He was a beautiful puppy.”

In January, her husband and son were out walking the dog when he lay down and died. “You don't expect that to happen to a one-year-old dog,” Mrs Andrews said. She got Henry from a breeder, complete with breed certificates testifying to his lineage, for £650. “I would like to think they would guarantee his health,” she said. “I had asked if the parents had heart disease. I was told no, but I didn't see any certificates.”

For a few months Henry appeared to be healthy. In August he showed signs of sickness and was found to have a heart murmur and sub-aortic stenosis, a genetic heart condition. “The vet said it was the worst case she had ever seen in a puppy,” she said.

The breeder claimed that all the other puppies in the litter had turned out healthy, though boxers are notorious for health problems.

Mrs Andrews said: “It's because breeders are trying to conform to the breed standard. There are good breeders out there, and we have since bought one, Charlie, who had certificates to prove that his parents had heart testing.”

Mrs Andrews, who goes to dog shows and is one of the three million viewers who tune into Crufts each year, was shocked by the documentary. “I keep boxers, and my daughter has a King Charles spaniel and now she's worried about him. He seems healthy, but it seems we couldn't have picked two worse dogs.”

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