Kennel Club Bans Father to Daughter Matings (Finally)

In a move that will be greeted with relief by canine welfare supporters, the Kennel Club has committed to refuse the registration of Father to Daughter / Brother to Sister / Mother to Son matings.

The Kennel Club announced:

In a further move, the Kennel Club has announced that it will crack down on the small number of breeders who continue to use the practice of mating close relatives by refusing to register those puppies that are born from any mother/son, father/daughter or brother/sister mating, taking place on or after 1st March 2009. Departures from this principle will only be made in exceptional circumstances or for scientifically proven welfare reasons.

The Kennel Club had previously argued when challenged about this practice that it was unable to outlaw close inbreeding of dogs as it would be ‘illegal’ (hear the audio here).

The Kennel Club hasn’t said whether it has received special permission to refuse to register the offspring of first generation ‘inbred’ matings so we may assume from this that it had it within its power to have made this decision earlier, despite protestations to the contrary.

In what must be described as a further and significant victory for the effectiveness of controversial documentary Pedigree Dogs Exposed, the Kennel Club has announced more changes to combat the breeding of exaggerated traits in certain breeds. Full statement here.

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Tags:  Animal Welfare, kennel club