As the dark clouds continue to gather over the world of organised pedigree dogdom and with more and more of the general public panicking about the health and wellbeing of their dogs, good breeders hitting out about being tarred with the same brush as the bad breeders and splits opening up between large animal organisations, K9 Magazine invited Nicky Paull, president of the British Veterinary Association (the BVA) to address some of the key issues raised by Pedigree Dogs Exposed on behalf of the British veterinary profession.

Vets are in a highly perculiar position. They spend their lives treating, saving and making animals well. But what about if dogs started to become far more robust, far healthier and far less likely to need to see their vets on a regular basis? Surely that puts vets in to a state of decline?

Lets look at it another way, if manufacturers developed a method of making cars that broke down far less often, small repair shops would be in deep trouble. Would turkeys vote for Christmas?

We started out by asked the BVA for their position regarding the role vets have to play in the prevention side of treating hereditary disease:

NP: Veterinary surgeons training is completely focused on the prevention of disease and, where disease occurs, treatment. Veterinary surgeons UK wide have been encouraging breeder clients to improve the genetics of their pedigree dogs for many years encouraging them to use the Canine Health Schemes which are run by BVA in conjunction with the Kennel Club.

Veterinary surgeons only focus is the health and welfare of their patients. And under the new Animal Welfare Act, health and welfare is also very much the responsibility of animal owners. Where there is potential for suffering due to genetic issues veterinary surgeons will advise appropriate actions but we can only advise. Much as a private doctor earns income from caring for people veterinary surgeons by the nature of their work do earn income form caring for animals. To suggest we would encourage suffering to maintain an income – well you can perhaps understand if I find that a bit offensive. I can only assure you that is certainly not the case with any veterinary surgeon I have met or have worked with.

K9: Vets, it could be argued, tend to profit generally from a nation of a sick or ill dogs. From a business perspective, it’s pretty hard to argue that if Britain’s dogs rapidly started suffering from less disease and illness, vets would make less money. So when it comes to issues such as Bulldogs being unable to deliver puppies naturally due to breeding practices which have denied them the right to give birth naturally, should it not be the case that vets have a duty to inform breeders to get their bitches spayed if they are working with a dog with clear and obvious physical health issues?

NP: in the case of any bitch of any breed that is unable to whelp due to an abnormality that is likely to render the same bitch unable to whelp normally in future pregnancies then a veterinary surgeon would normally discuss spaying with the owner. It is however legally the owners final decision. We do see bitches though that whelp normally after having a Caesar at a previous whelp. Certainly a bitch requiring a second caesarian should not be bred from again. As regards BVA’s current work on this issue – we have already met with the Kennel Club and are in the process of going through with them their future plans. We have meetings scheduled with the RSPCA and CAWC.

The issue is also currently being further progressed by the BVA Animal Welfare Foundation and by the BVA Ethics and Welfare Committee. BVA continues to work proactively on this with the KC through the health schemes. We are well into the process of looking to add a Heart Scheme to the current Eyes, Hips and Elbow Schemes.

We are very keen to do all we can to help the Kennel Club in their talks with the many breed societies in the UK to make progress in improving breeds that currently have genetic defects. The BVA however is aware that in the USA when the American KC made a move to be more proactive on this issue several breed clubs and societies pulled away from the KC. It is essential we keep everyone round the table if we are to get progress in the UK.

K9: Are vets doing enough in terms of putting breeders in the picture about the continuation of bad breeding practices?

NP: The BVA also wants to do more to increase owner awareness of potential breed problems and encourage them to find out all they can before buying a puppy. The KC run an accredited breeders scheme which needs promoting for future puppy purchasers. Many vets will have clients who like to keep the same breed of dog over and over again and almost seem to learn to live with the problems that some breeds have – we need to convince owners that this is not acceptable because their pressure will help encourage breeders to work harder to breed out some of these problems.

I am not sure anyone would want to buy a car that they know is likely to keep breaking down in the same place the last one did. If you are thinking of buying a puppy go and get advice from your local veterinary practice.

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Related posts:

1. Vets Get Together to Discuss Pedigree Dog Breeding
2. So, With Pedigree Dogs ‘Exposed’ is it Time to Get a ‘Designer’ Cross Breed?
3. RSPCA Chief Vet Condemns ‘Parade of Mutants’ – Pedigree Dogs Exposed
4. Pedigree Dogs Exposed: A Positive Moment for Canine Health
5. Pedigree Health Campaigner Launches Website in Response to Pedigree Dogs Exposed