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[Candy317]

Some parts are quite graphic - this is very long but worth the time.
Documentary - BBC - Pedigree Dogs Exposed Video by Eric - MySpace Video

shorter version

YouTube - Pedigree dogs 1


would like to add although....hopefully the akc will follow...
from: Kennel Club Announces New Changes to Safeguard Health of Pedigree Dogs - The Kennel Club

The Kennel Club is launching a complete review of every pedigree dog breed in the UK in a move that will have far-reaching benefits for the health of many breeds. It has also called on the government to give it the statutory powers to clamp down on breeders who fail to make a dog’s health their top priority.

A breed health plan will be coordinated for each of the UK’s 209 pedigree breeds and will benefit from the extensive research that has been funded by the Kennel Club in conjunction with renowned veterinary research centres over the past 40 years. This will include updated breed standards to ensure that no dog is bred for features that might prevent it from seeing, walking and breathing freely. Judges will be fully briefed on the new breed standards so that only the healthiest dogs are rewarded in the show ring.

The Kennel Club is releasing the first of these new breed standards today, for the Pekingese, and has taken a tough line with the breed following extensive and abortive consultations. This is set to radically improve the health of the Pekingese which for nearly a hundred years was bred to have a flat face; a feature which can lead to breathing problems; under the new health plan the breed will be required to have a defined muzzle.

The breed health plans, which are scheduled to be completed by early next year, will also incorporate the results of a thorough, ongoing analysis of the health status and genetic diversity of each breed, drawing on results from the world’s largest dog health survey, conducted by the Animal Health Trust and funded by the Kennel Club Charitable Trust in 2004. This will ensure that breeders and buyers are aware of the health tests that should be carried out for each breed. The final part of the plans will look at ways breeders can expand the gene pool of the breed.

In order to ensure that the plans are effective and reach all dogs, the Kennel Club has called on the government to give it statutory powers to make its established Accredited Breeder Scheme compulsory throughout the country. If successful, this would mean that all breeders who are not part of the scheme and who have not officially confirmed their willingness to follow the health standards set by the Kennel Club would be unable to produce or sell puppies within the law.

Additionally, breed clubs are now required to adopt the Kennel Club’s Code of Ethics, to ensure that their practices fall in line with Kennel Club policy for putting the health and welfare of puppies first. This includes a clause that explicitly forbids the compulsory culling of healthy puppies.

To complement these steps the Kennel Club is developing plans for a new Canine Genetics Centre. This will be run in conjunction with the Animal Health Trust, confirming the Kennel Club’s commitment to research into inherited diseases and the provision of DNA testing programmes which identify the genes underlying inherited health problems.

Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club Secretary, said: “The groundswell of public attention on the very important matters surrounding dog breeding is a welcomed momentum that will enable us to drive through, with added urgency, new and extended initiatives that will help to safeguard the health of our pedigree dogs. We have been listening and agree with the general public’s view that more needs to be done.

“Steps such as our breed health plans will enable us to ensure that the health of every dog is the number one priority and we are taking a tougher line with breed clubs by adjusting those breed standards that fail to promote good health. By asking the government for statutory powers we will be able to take a tougher line with all breeders and breed clubs that fail to abide by our high standards. This in turn will enable us to extend the reach of our Accredited Breeder Scheme, which is the quality control mechanism within our registration process, so that all dogs will be bred by people who abide by our stringent rules and regulations for the breeding of healthy, happy dogs.

“We have been working hard in recent years to identify and address health problems that exist in dogs, and we are taking advantage of the opportunities that advances in science have given us to improve dog health. We look forward to continuing our work with various institutions and organisations that share the same objective: to protect the health and welfare of all dogs.”

[Candy317]

here's a recent article about the whole peta controversy...

Pedigree Dogs Exposed Film Maker Hits Out at Animal Rights Extremists
January 8, 2009 by Freelance Writers
The makers of Pedigree Dogs Exposed, the BBC documentary film that led to the BBC withdrawing from televising Crufts Dog Show in the UK are furious with PETA for jumping on the film’s bandwagon.
Earlier this week, PETA called for the US networks to stop televising Westminster Dog Show, citing the BBC film as evidence of unacceptable deformity and disease in pedigree dogs.
Pedigree Dogs Exposed was the result of two years’ careful research. The film highlighted serious health and welfare concerns in pedigree dogs that many experts agree need to be addressed urgently. However, the filmmakers have no connection to PETA and are idealogically opposed to PETA’s aims.
“I am horrified that PETA is using the film to further its own, warped agenda,” says Jemima Harrison, of Passionate Productions, which made the film for the BBC. “Our film is about animal welfare, not animal rights.
“PETA’s animal welfare record is appalling. It kills 97 per cent of the dogs that come to its shelters and admits its ultimate aim is to rid the world of what it calls the “domestic enslavement” of dogs as either pets or working dogs.
“In stark contrast, and the reason we made the film, is that we believe pedigree dogs are of tremendous value to society and that something needs to be done to arrest the damage caused by decades of inbreeding and selection for ‘beauty’. The film is a passionate call for urgent reform to save them before it is too late. To do that, there needs to be urgent reform of breeding practices and dog shows.
“PETA is a bunch of crackpots who do not care about anything but publicity and making money. They have not bothered to contact us - and, indeed, if they did we would make it very clear we do not want their support. It devalues and marginalises a film that raises a serious issue that needs to be addressed, and quickly.”

[Canadian FreeSpirit]

I saw that documentary not long ago, and I was floored by it.
are the same breeding practices going on here in N.A.? please tell me no.
the sight of that one Cavalier King Charles Spaniel writhing in pain will be forever etched in my mind. how can any person of good conscience allow breeding of such afflicted animals to continue? it is insane.
the other shocking feature for me was when they showed pictures of GSDs, Basset Hounds, Pugs, and I think Dachshunds from the 1880s and compared them to the "breed standard" of today. these animals look like they have been twisted and warped. the GSD with its sloping back end is barely able to walk in a straight line. and this is a dog that is supposed to be a herding dog? the dogs in that show ring never were near any kind of animals that would need to be herded-they would fall over every 3'. and the Pug, how did it get so distorted? you barely recognize the animal now when you look at what it was.
I know nothing about PETA, except that they have never come up with a single idea that I liked. last year, in Canada, a man beheaded a fellow bus passenger for no reason. PETA used that incident to push its own agenda. insensitive to a grieving, shocked community, or what? and did anyone hear about wanting to make ice cream out of human breast milk? that was one of theirs, too.
I don't see how either of those examples shows any "ethical treatment" of anyone, really.
but that BBC documentary-it scared me.

[smeagle]

Whilst I think the BBC documentary raised some points about unethical breeding, it really painted the entire pedigree dog world with the same unethical brush. I would have liked it had it been a lot more balanced and shown the majority of breeders who do the right thing - health testing their dogs, breeding for a balance of qualities not just conformation but temperament, health etc. For this reason I think the documentary was quite sensationalised - it's not that those bad things don't happen in the pedigree world and the issues raised are not important, but IMO, there is a lot of good there too.

I think structure and breeding to the breed standard is incredibly important, but it is about a balance and no dog should be bred if it is a carrier of a genetic disease or is structurally unsound. I always buy my dogs from registered breeders but I would never buy from one that didn't health test etc.

[Kris]

There's a thread in the 'debate' forum dealing with this documentary.

[smeagle]

Originally Posted by Kris

There's a thread in the 'debate' forum dealing with this documentary.

Kris, I had a look and couldn't find it, could you provide a link please?

ETA: Actually never mind, found it, but it was the News section not the debate forum