8 January 2024, 09:27 | Updated: 8 January 2024, 09:30
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Alamy
By Connor Hand and Charlotte Lynch
Irresponsible canine breeders with none {qualifications} are more and more working within the UK, and are able to producing animals that are “bigger, more athletic and more muscular” than American XL bullies, LBC has been warned.
Figures shared with LBC present there was an eleven-fold improve in so-called canine fertility clinics throughout during the last three years, providing synthetic insemination and harmful procedures like ear-cropping, which is commonly supposed to make dogs look extra menacing.
There are actually understood to be 412 such practices throughout the UK, which may be arrange by anyone no matter their background and {qualifications}. In 2020, Naturewatch Foundation, an animal welfare charity, recorded 37 of those practices, and stated solely one in every of these clinics existed lower than a decade in the past.
The British Veterinary Association fears a coming “animal welfare catastrophe”, noting a pointy rise within the variety of vets citing irresponsible breeding as essentially the most urgent challenge dealing with their practices. New polling amongst their members reveals it’s the primary concern for greater than 50% of vets.
Carla-Marie Moore, a trustee at canine fostering charity Phoenix Rehoming, informed LBC: “The forms of dogs they’re breeding are a genetic mess; they’re destined to be struggling [and] are an animal welfare catastrophe.
“Lots of those dogs end up with unsuspecting owners who then surrender them to rescues, which are picking up the pieces, footing very expensive vet bills for health and welfare-related issues that are happening on a daily basis.
“Irresponsible breeders don’t care about the temperament of their dogs – they care about making them bigger, more athletic, more muscular. They’re not being considerate as to what it is they’re producing and what those offspring are going to produce.”
She said the dogs produced by rogue breeders, which are often being ‘designed’ for their owners, often experience behavioural issues.
“These are dogs who perhaps don’t like other dogs, who don’t like other people, who perhaps don’t like children. Any dog with a temperament like that does pose a risk to the public, other people and other people’s dogs.”
Dr Elizabeth Mullineaux, Junior Vice President of the British Veterinary Association, told LBC many of the clinics are “thriving businesses” where owners can choose the design of their puppies.
“Artificial insemination means characteristics can be chosen that wouldn’t normally happen, so different colours, fluffy coats, no coats at all, very muscular dogs or very long, low dogs.
“This is really problematic from a health perspective too, a lot of these odd traits are linked to other genetics that cause these dogs real health problems going forward.”
Dr Mullineaux told LBC many of the breeding services feature XL bullies on their webpages, and advertise themselves as being ‘qualified breeders’, despite no such qualification existing. Alarmingly, some of them offer courses for other people to train, she said.
Amongst those to arrive at Phoenix Rehoming with health complications was five-month-old French Bulldog, Coco. Soon after purchasing Coco from what was believed to be a reputable breeder, her owners were forced to give her up due to the huge vet bill they faced.
Vets there told LBC Coco couldn’t breathe and was unable to sleep without waking up gasping, because her nostrils were so small that air couldn’t pass through. She needed surgery to increase the diameter of her nostrils and to open up her airway inside her mouth so she was able to breathe.
She also needed three different procedures carried out on her eyes so they would last her and not become infected, for which the bill was £3,500.
Trustee Carla-Marie Moore told LBC: “Every day we are turning away dozens of dogs. We don’t want to turn them away, but we just physically have nowhere to put them. Undoubtedly some of those dogs will face euthanasia if a place isn’t found – and lots of other rescue centers are in the same position.”
The British Veterinary Association and the British Small Animal Veterinary Association are calling on Government to license all premises providing canine breeding companies, together with canine fertility clinics.
The BVAs stated: “Many of those amenities have been linked to organised crime, the breeding of ‘in-fashion’ dogs like XL bullies for excessive options, in addition to unethical and harmful canine breeding practices.
Vets are involved that such unregulated amenities are placing the well being and wellbeing of dogs and their litters in danger and fuelling a possible animal welfare catastrophe.”
