The Buzz Around London on Crufts

by Mary Haight on March 3, 2009

: Image by Getty Images via Daylife

A report by Ryan O’Meara dangles an interesting, if unconfirmed, bit of gossip about a possible Kennel Club announcement at Crufts.

As you may recall, there has been an uproar about the unhealthy state of pedigree dogs thanks to too much inbreeding. Many breeds bred for show (and therein lies the heart of it) are in serious trouble, as with the English Bull Dog who’s head is so big the dog has trouble supporting it, and the Pekingese whose breathing is so labored, the poor dog could barely get around the show ring. First Crufts lost their sponsor, Pedigree Dog Food, then the RSPCA backed out of the show, and finally the BBC refused to televise the event, feeling they would be contibuting to cruelty to animals. All very damning.

This latest buzz about the Kennel Club possibly announcing at Crufts they will open the stud book, meaning to allow breeds to outcross with other breeds to correct the physical problems that have resulted from inbreeding, is creating lots of hopeful chatter. Animal welfare groups have been calling for this for years, and scientists agree this is the only way to help the dogs out of the “genetic bottleneck” they’re in.

While this is purely conjecture, even if the Kennel Club had not planned on making any such announcement, they need to consider making such a move to begin to change the future for breeds and re-gain the support of the public.

We’ll have the answer soon. Crufts runs for four days from March 5. To see O’Meara’s story, check out dogmagazine.