“Honestly Spoken” challenges harmful practices in dog breeding by highlighting Dyrebeskyttelsen Norge’s efforts to prioritize animal welfare over appearance. The struggle for legislative changes and ethical breeding principles paves the way toward a future where dogs are bred with a focus on health, temperament, and welfare.
Current Breeding Practices
We love our animals. Nevertheless, humans have long bred companion animals with a primary focus on appearance. This has come at the expense of both health and temperament, and the result is that a number of species live with chronic and painful conditions.
The Animal Welfare Act requires that animals be bred with good function and health. Animal Protection Norway believes that certain dog breeds carry such a heavy disease burden and are so closely related that breeding these breeds violates the Animal Welfare Act.
Campaign and Lawsuit
The discussion regarding unethical breeding has been ongoing since the early 1960s. It has been repeatedly pointed out that the problems are so significant that measures must be taken. Nevertheless, little to nothing happens.
In 2015, Animal Protection Norway Oslo and Akershus commissioned an independent report on the animal welfare aspects of dog breeding. The report states, among other things, that “the apparatus surrounding the breeding of pedigree dogs internationally and nationally has so far failed to either prevent or stop a development that, for several breeds, is in obvious conflict with the animals’ welfare.” Animal Protection Norway subsequently launched the ‘Ærlig talt’ (Honestly) campaign in 2018. The goal of the campaign was, and remains, to establish lasting and structural changes in the breeding of companion animals. Sick dogs must become the exception rather than the rule.
Through dialogue with the various parties, it quickly became clear to Animal Protection Norway that there are very different views on how the problem should be solved and, in some cases, what is legal or not. Animal Protection Norway therefore took legal action to clarify the implications of the law’s wording. The dog breeding case eventually ended up in the Supreme Court, which ruled that the breeding of Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, with the current genetic material, is in violation of the Animal Welfare Act. With the Cavalier, the Supreme Court thus set a limit for what dogs should have to endure due to human vanity. The dog breeding case is a major victory for animal welfare and for everyone who loves animals. Regarding the English Bulldog, the Supreme Court concluded that breeding is permitted under specified frameworks set by the Bulldog Club. The Supreme Court also points out that this is a current assessment that may result in a different outcome if it appears that the new rules do not lead to sufficient improvement in the short term—both in relation to breathing problems and the proportion of caesarean sections in the breed.
It is important to emphasize that this is a battle we have fought for the animals, and not a battle against specific actors in dog breeding. Even behind the sickest breeds, there are fantastic dogs and beautiful souls who deserve a life without pain and suffering.
Animal Protection Norway
Man’s best friend 2:59
The dog is man’s best friend, but are we the dog’s best friend?
Disease Guarantee 0:30
Animal Protection Norway works to end the unethical breeding of companion animals, particularly within pedigree breeding.
Important Work Ahead
Before Animal Protection Norway filed the lawsuit, there were few restrictions on which dogs could be bred. For instance, there was free access to use dogs with very serious breathing problems for breeding.
Today, the clubs prohibit breeding with such dogs, and the draft regulations are clear that it is not permitted. There were also no ongoing crossbreeding projects for our companion dogs, whereas today such projects are underway in other countries for the English Bulldog, French Bulldog, and Cavalier. The wording of the breeding section has been changed, and it has been established that dog breeding must be regulated and that this shall be fixed by regulation. In the time ahead, it is therefore important to work for a regulation that protects our dogs as effectively as possible.
Significant attention from abroad has led to ripple effects in other countries. More and more people now understand that dog breeding must change, and we hope that this will lead to better welfare for dogs worldwide.
It is entirely possible to change breeding practices so that our dogs can live good lives. In this regard, Animal Protection Norway is supported by, among others, Odd Vangen, Professor of Animal Breeding and Genetics.
If we are to conduct sustainable and healthy dog breeding, we must remember that appearance is not the only thing that counts. There are five traits to be maintained in breeding: appearance, health, working abilities, mentality/behavior, and fertility. We must ensure that we breed for all five of these traits and not over-focus on appearance.
The dog is man’s best friend. We must also be the dog’s best friend.
