THE proprietor of the canine whose “oldest ever” title has been suspended has alleged pet meals giants are behind a conspiracy to dethrone his pet.
Much-loved Bobi, a purebred Rafeiro do Alentejo, claimed his Guinness World Records crown on the age of 30 years and 268 days in February 2023.
But on Tuesday, Guinness suspended his “world’s oldest canine” title amid an investigation launched into the legitimacy of his age.
The publication stated it was reviewing the title after some veterinarians questioned his age.
And now Bobi’s proprietor Leonel Costa has provide you with recent allegations towards pet meals businesses.
According to Leonel, high individuals within the trade are concentrating on him and his canine as a result of he had promoted a pure food regimen over processed pet food for his four-legged pal.
He stated in a press release: “A marketing campaign of discredit is being fuelled by vested pursuits bent on safeguarding the processed animal feed business.
“Bobi had a protracted life consuming pure meals, in addition to solely important vaccinations and a way of life that offered his longevity.
“So it turns into tough for these individuals to proceed to convey to any animal proprietor that pure meals just isn’t advisable.
“Bobi, like different animals on this world, proved that consuming the meals they advocate just isn’t an indication of a greater high quality of life.
“Fortunately, not all veterinarians suppose the identical method because the ‘elite’ whose goal is clearly to discredit Bobi’s life.”
Bobi was born in 1992, in accordance with Leonel.
He lived on a farm within the village of Conqueiros in Portugal together with his proprietor.
The furry head died in October last year at the reported age of 31 years and 163 days – simply months after he was topped the “world’s oldest canine”.
In the aftermath of his demise, nonetheless, points have been raised by sceptics questioning the legitimacy of him being the oldest canine ever to reside.
Some individuals observed that Bobi’s paws in old images have been white, whereas they have been brown when he died.
This raised alarms about whether or not the old images have been even actual.
Moreover, whereas Bobi’s delivery was apparently confirmed by the Portuguese authorities’s pet database, an investigation from Wired journal discovered that Bobi had solely been registered in 2022 – only a 12 months earlier than he died.
Amid the rising quantity of questions on Bobi’s legitimacy, the Guinness World Records suspended his title saying the publication is reviewing the title after some veterinarians questioned his age.
“While our overview is ongoing we’ve determined to quickly pause each the report titles for oldest canine dwelling and ever simply till all of our findings are in place,” Guinness World Records informed The Associated Press on Tuesday.
Shortly after Bobi’s demise, Danny Chambers, a vet and council member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons informed The Guardian: “Not a single certainly one of my veterinary colleagues consider he was truly 31 years old.”
However, questioning why critics had waited until his canine had died to forged doubt on his age, Leonel stated: “I utterly perceive that it’s tough for these individuals to simply accept that an animal lives for therefore many years, opposite to a lot of their directions.
“But I cannot enable them to tarnish Bobi’s title and his honourable life.
“You can attack me, I’m right here for you, however I received’t enable it with Bobi.”
In an emailed assertion, Costa defended Bobi’s title, saying Guinness World Records had spent a 12 months checking the report declare.
He stated he has earned no money from the report and hasn’t heard from the publication in regards to the latest allegations.
