Crufts might be pulled/PEDIGREE Dogs Exposed

The Sun wrote:CRUFTS was in crisis last night as the BBC admitted it may axe its coverage after 42 years over fears for the health of pedigree dogs.

Beeb chiefs are in talks with organisers The Kennel Club about pulling the plug on the famous show.

It comes amid claims the animals are suffering a raft of serious health problems due to interbreeding to exaggerate the natural features of dogs.

Their physiques have changed dramatically over the years as our startling pictures of Basset Hounds and Bulldogs show.


Many other breeds, not just those at Crufts, are facing crippling difficulties. A BBC documentary tonight will reveal:

• PUGS often struggle to breathe because they have been bred to have flat faces and small noses.

• BULLDOGS are now such an unnatural shape most can’t even mate, while females can’t give birth unassisted.

• CAVALIER King Charles Spaniels suffer from brain disorder syringomyelia because their heads are so small. The lightest touch causes agony.

• MANY healthy Rhodesian Ridgeback puppies are put down because they are born without a ridge in their back.

The programme even claims some breeds may go extinct if the genetic problems continue.

Steve Jones, Professor of Genetics at University College London, said the problem is in part due to mating mothers and sons and brothers and sisters.

He said: “It’s insane from the point of view of the health of the animals. In some breeds they are paying a terrible, terrible price in genetic disease.”

If breeders continue, dogs will get so inbred they won’t be able to reproduce and die out.

RSPCA chief vet Mark Evans blamed the suffering of pedigree dogs on breeding for appearance and to meet dog show rules and requirements.

He called on breeders to combine to protect the health and welfare of pedigree breeds, which make up three-quarters of all the dogs in Britain.

He said: “Public attitude also needs to change so that the most desirable dogs are those which are fit, healthy and well suited to the life they lead.”

The BBC — just one year into a three-year contract to show Crufts — said the likelihood of it being shown next year was “uncertain”. A spokesman said: “We are in discussions with The Kennel Club. No decision has yet been made.”

The club said the axe talks were “news to us”. It said many problems in today’s dogs stem from the Victorian era.

Meanwhile, a report out yesterday told how “handbag dogs” like Chihuahuas fashionable with celebs like Paris Hilton are prone to heart attacks due to inbreeding.

PEDIGREE Dogs Exposed is on BBC1 tonight at 9pm.