Animal protection Norway is suing several for illegal breeding of one hundred
– This is not an unusual view of clinics, that short-nosed breeds find it very comfortable to have open airways. They walk around the clinic with the anesthesia tube in, and think life is great. This is a sad sight for a veterinarian, says veterinarian and general manager of Animal Protection Norway, Åshild Roaldset, to Dagbladet.
She talks here about the picture of a Norwegian dog, an English bulldog, who has woken up from anesthesia. I swallowed it still has the anesthesia tube. The vast majority of dogs will get rid of this as soon as they wake up. This one did not.
The picture is several years old, however Animal protection Norway use it regularly to demonstrate what they believe is illegal breeding of dogs.
The short snout of the English bulldog is one of the reasons why Dyrebeskyttelsen is in Oslo District Court these days. They have sued the Norwegian Kennel Club (NKK), the Norwegian Bulldog Club, the Norwegian Cavalier Club and six breeders of the dog breeds English Bulldog and Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. The animal protection believes that these are engaged in illegal breeding of dogs, which is contrary to the Animal Welfare Act.
The case started in Oslo District Court on Wednesday 10 November, and has come up to and including Tuesday this week.
– We have chosen these two breeds because there are very sick dog breeds that at the same time have a very high relationship between all individuals in the breed. When both the burden of illness and kinship is high within a breed, it becomes impossible to improve the breed’s health within the Animal Welfare Act’s requirement that dogs must be bred with good function and good health. Further breeding on these breeds, we believe, provides a disease guarantee, where the offspring are guaranteed to get one or more hereditary diseases, Roaldset explains.
Convenes breeders: – Completely unacceptable
Struggle for animal welfare
The claim from Dyrebeskyttelsen Norge is that breeding the mentioned breeds is in violation of the Welfare Act § 25. It states, among other things, that breeding should not be conducted that affects animals ‘physical or mental functions negatively, or reduce animals’ ability to exercise naturally . behavior.
Section 25 of the Animal Welfare Act was new with the introduction of the Animal Welfare Act in 2009, but the Animal Protection feels that this has not been enforced.
– We have witnessed many decades with an extreme degree of inbreeding, and a very high disease burden. Further breeding of these breeds is, as we see it, already banned.
Lawyer and dog owner Geir Lippestad represents the defendant NKK, the breed clubs and the six breeders. He tells Dagbladet that the parties share the goal of good animal health and animal welfare, but that they share how this is to be achieved.
– NKK and the clubs work with strict guidelines, and work for a research-based breeding where good health and pedigrees are used. Therefore, we are surprised that Dyrebeskyttelsen has chosen to apply for the serious players, and not those who engage in unregistered breeding, says Lippestad.
He rejects the claim that the defendant breeders have engaged in “an extreme degree of inbreeding”, and refers, among other things, to the extensive use of pedigrees.
Thought they bought dog – made shock discovery
Breathing problems and deformed skull
Animal protection Norway says that they have chosen these for the dog breeds because they are two of the breeds where the health condition and disease burden is clearly worst.
– English bulldog is a short-nosed breed that suffers from breathing problems and can not give birth naturally. A very large proportion must be delivered by caesarean section. The Cavalier king charles spaniel, on the other hand, has an oversized brain for the dog’s skull, so that the brain pushes itself out of the skull and down towards the dog’s spine. It can cause severe pain and suffering.
In the final submission to the Oslo District Court, Dyrebeskyttelsen points to the various challenges the breeds experience. English bulldog has a number of health challenges, the plaintiff writes.
Animal Welfare believes that “the available material is that English bulldogs can no longer reproduce naturally, as a high degree of artificial insemination is used, and that a very high number of litters must be released by caesarean section.”
For cavalier king charles spaniel, heart defects and neurological disorders are mentioned.
“Animal protection Norway believes that it can be assumed that all cavalier king charles spaniel have a pedigree deformed skull (CM) – ie that the skull is too small for the dog’s brain.”
– The major health challenges these breeds have are man-made. Many people think that today’s breeding is about preserving the breeds, but that is not true. High focus on a specific appearance, while allowing a high degree of inbreeding has led to dramatic changes in dog breeds in the last hundred years, says Roaldset.
Animal Welfare will try to prove this in court with the help of both documentary evidence and expert witnesses.
NRK focuses on rags – again
– Serious players
The parties are the only ones that there is a degree of disease in the two races, says lawyer Lippestad. However, this is not the case with the litters bred at the six defendant breeders, he claims.
– These are serious players. They have recently been in contact with puppy buyers for the past five years, who tell about animals that live good lives and happy owners. Animal Welfare has not tried to document that these six violate the Animal Welfare Act. On the contrary, we can document that these are among the best in animal welfare, says Lippestad, and continues:
– If Dyrebeskyttelsen is concerned with good animal welfare, this lawsuit is directed at the wrong breeders.
In addition to explanations and documentation from the breeders, they will also present their own expert witnesses.
The detail Lippestad often thinks about
Will ban the races
Animal protection Norway explains the lawsuit of the six breeders as follows:
– We have previously experienced that the various actors owe each other. Breeders at the breed clubs, the breed clubs at the breeders – or at the Norwegian Kennel Club or the international kennel club. Others point to puppy buyers. Therefore, we have chosen to hold all actors in breeding responsible. Nevertheless, it is important for us to demand that the purpose is not to attack these specific breeders. They are selected because they are active breeders of these dog breeds, and have roles in the respective breed clubs.
Animal Welfare has been working on this issue for several years. Earlier this year, a clarification was added to section 25. Here it was made clear that race clubs also have a responsibility to comply with the legislation, which the plaintiff believes strengthens their case.
In the final submission to the Oslo District Court, it appears that Dyrebeskyttelsen wants the breeders to be banned from breeding the respective dog breeds.
Lawyer Lippestad thinks this is wrong.
– Dog is a sensitive issue in Norway. Everyone who owns a dog has a relationship with the dogs. Being sued is a tough experience for the breeders. They have been in a very uncomfortable situation for a long time now. We react strongly to the court being used in this way, says lawyer Lippestad, who is the dog owner himself.
– Not compatible with natural death
Popular dogs
The Norwegian Food Safety Authority is now in the process of preparing a regulation for the legislation. This is very gratifying for Dyrebeskyttelsen, which believes this is a direct result of the organization’s work. They want more control, not less.
– The great focus on appearance and breed unity will cause disease in all breeds, unless you accept that you have to modernize the breeding and use today’s technology and knowledge for the dogs’ best. This is entirely possible, says Roaldset in Dyrebeskyttelsen Norge.
Animal Welfare wants the Norwegian Food Safety Authority to be given a tool to be able to carry out systematic supervision of breeders. There are already databases that open up for the Norwegian Food Safety Authority to largely automate the supervision of breeding.
– We want better regulation of breeding, with information from the entire dog population. Today, only a few animals are screened for diseases, and only a few diseases are screened for. It’s too bad. All diagnoses for all individuals must be recorded. We already know of five million undiagnosed diagnoses. That’s bad.
Lawyer Lippestad, on the other hand, is afraid of what will happen if the Animal Protection should win in court, and the mentioned breeders are forbidden to breed on the popular dog breeds.
– The demand for these dogs will not disappear even if there should be a ban in this country. Then puppy buyers will go to less serious players in Norway and abroad. It is completely incomprehensible to us that Animal Protection is taking this step. It will only lead to less control, and poorer animal welfare.