[ SHOWGSD-L ] Euro rules 'could outlaw 40 dog breeds'

From: "Ginger Cleary" <cleary1414@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Showgsd-L@Freelists. Org" <showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sun, 29 Apr 2007 20:44:18 -0400
Ginger Cleary - Rome, GA www.rihadin.com
"Laws against something 'that other guy' does will eventually get US because
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  -----Original Message-----

  http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=662872007

  Euro rules 'could outlaw 40 dog breeds'
  JAMES KIRKUP POLITICAL EDITOR ( jkirkup@xxxxxxxxxxxx)
  DOG breeders have warned that some of Britain's best-loved breeds
including dachshunds, bulldogs and basset hounds could disappear because of
new and potentially far-reaching government animal-welfare measures.

  The Scotsman has learned that ministers in Edinburgh and London are
preparing to ratify a controversial Europe-wide treaty that could set strict
limits on the breeding and handling of animals.

  The European Convention on the Protection of Pet Animals is
enthusiastically supported by animal-welfare groups, and rejected by dog
breeders, who say it would impose a "sweeping" curb on their activities.

  After years of prevarication and hesitation, private talks have been
taking place between the Scottish Executive and the Department for the
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) aimed at ratifying the treaty.
Because animal welfare is devolved, Scottish ministers must agree before the
UK can sign up to the accord.

  The convention states that animal breeders must be held accountable for
any "anatomical, physiological and behavioural characteristics which are
likely to put at risk the health and welfare of either the offspring or the
female parent".

  Annexes to the document set down precise limits on physical
characteristics like the length of a dog's back relative to its legs, the
length of its ears and the dimensions of its head and nose.

  Dog breeders fear that the treaty's terms are so broad that it would
effectively forbid the breeding of distinctive types of dog because their
defining characteristics could be seen as risking their welfare.

  According to the Scottish Kennel Club, ratifying the treaty would mean
that anywhere between 30 and 40 breeds would effectively be outlawed. Some
distinctive breeds of cat including the Siamese and Persian could also be
affected.

  "Many breeds would have so many restrictions put on them that they would
effectively cease to exist," said Jean Fairlie, parliamentary liaison
officer for the Scottish Kennel Club.

  "The convention is too broad, too sweeping - it fails to take account of
scientific developments, and the work the Kennel Club and breeders have done
since it was drawn up to eliminate some mutations and health problems while
maintaining the consistency of the breeds."

  Among the convention's most enthusiastic supporters is Advocates for
Animals, an Edinburgh-based campaign group.

  "Pedigree dogs are bred for their appearance rather than for their good
health, which often suffers as a result. They are being 'designed' to
conform to ideal 'breed standards' which often involve exaggerated and
unnatural physical characteristics that are detrimental to the dogs' health
and welfare," said Ross Minnett, the group's director.

  Ratifying the convention would "substantially modify extreme breed
standards and limit the degree to which pedigree dogs are bred to be
intentionally deformed in a quest to produce 'the perfect dog'," he said.
"But any claims that this convention would lead to the end of pedigree
breeds are scaremongering nonsense."

  Beverley Cuddy, the editor of Dogs Today magazine, said she thought
breeders were exaggerating the impact ratification would have. "All it means
is that breeders would have to put the health of the dogs first instead of
their appearance," she said.

  "The Kennel Clubs say they're setting up new rules and breed standards
that mean [ratification] wouldn't be needed, but it's too little, too late -
judges at shows are still rewarding breeders for producing animals with
unhealthy features - bulldogs with bigger heads, things like that."

  A DEFRA spokesman confirmed that ministers were "working with the devolved
administrations to identify the implications of the convention, were the
government to sign it".

  Related topic

    a.. European Union
    http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=591
  This article: http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=662872007

  Last updated: 29-Apr-07 00:25 BST

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[ SHOWGSD-L ] Euro rules 'could outlaw 40 dog breeds'

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