Norway bans breeding of British bulldogs and cavalier KC spaniels - thoughts

[Isithalftermyet]

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/697ef036-841a-11ec-a9c8-2dfad00a5965?shareToken=c37936ddb9d69260deff5c2da19226d2

On the surface it feels like a good idea - but thinking it through surely they would be better to encourage good breeders and crack down on un-ethical and only for profit breeding. Also, not really sure how they will police the ban as you are still allowed to import the breeds.

You might be interested in this thread

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/4470764-To-be-glad-Norway-is-banning-breeding-deformed-dogs

I expect they'll police it in the same way as the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Switzerland which already have bans on certain types of breeding (sometimes known as 'torture breeding')

Thank you Wetotter! I hadn’t seen that one - clearly not spending enough time in AIBU 😂

Good. Hopefully french bulldogs and pugs will be next.

It will restrict supply, make them more expensive due to the cost of importing and hopefully make them socially unacceptable breeds to own.

Few things in life are 100% effective but it should help reduce the number of suffering animals

Ban on bulldogs = good.
Cavaliers?
I don’t think it’s as clear cut.
Their confirmation isn’t inherently cruel I.e they don’t have sloped or overly long backs, no excessive wrinkles, flat faces etc but the cavalier is a perfect example of what happens when you limit the gene pool to create a dog of set standards, a dog that is consistently the same size, shape, colour, temperament etc.
Many, many breeds are going the same way.
The answer is to move away from set breeds and have more considered outcrossing or breeding for a purpose eg pets rather than a specific breed. IMO.

Cavs do have flat faces...

Cavs do have flat faces
They really, really don’t.
Their skulls might technically be classed as ‘brachycephalic’ but they are worlds away from a Pug or an English Bulldog or an Affenpinscher or other truly ‘flat’ faced breed.

I think we need to steer away from breeds altogether. Get the gene pools mixing. Just have dogs. Healthy, genetically diverse canines.

@WetRainbowRoses

Cavs do have flat faces They really, really don’t. Their skulls might technically be classed as ‘brachycephalic’ but they are worlds away from a Pug or an English Bulldog or an Affenpinscher or other truly ‘flat’ faced breed.

They’re honestly not a world away, they’re very close to being that flat faced, it’s not exaggerated by wrinkles because cav breeders go for excess flesh instead to produce that smooshy puppy “cute” look (which makes BOAS worse) but they absolutely do have flat faces.

I’m pleased to hear this news, I wish all countries would do it.

@WetRainbowRoses

Ban on bulldogs = good. Cavaliers? I don’t think it’s as clear cut. Their confirmation isn’t inherently cruel I.e they don’t have sloped or overly long backs, no excessive wrinkles, flat faces etc but the cavalier is a perfect example of what happens when you limit the gene pool to create a dog of set standards, a dog that is consistently the same size, shape, colour, temperament etc. Many, many breeds are going the same way. The answer is to move away from set breeds and have more considered outcrossing or breeding for a purpose eg pets rather than a specific breed. IMO.

It's more than brachycephalic dogs though - they also looked at the extremely high instance of heart issues in Cavs, 20 times more common in Cavs than other breeds, as well as the Chiari-like Malformation skull-shape issues that Cavs have. Not just the snout shape.

Norway hasn't banned outcrossing.

“It's more than brachycephalic dogs though - they also looked at the extremely high instance of heart issues in Cavs, 20 times more common in Cavs than other breeds, as well as the Chiari-like Malformation skull-shape issues that Cavs have. Not just the snout shape.”

I assumed it was a combination of the health issues with both breeds tbh.

Bulldogs are also a mess all over, it’s not just their face/breathing.

I'm absolutely delighted and wish the UK would follow suit.

I agree about French bulldogs and pugs, too.

It's more than brachycephalic dogs though - they also looked at the extremely high instance of heart issues in Cavs, 20 times more common in Cavs than other breeds, as well as the Chiari-like Malformation skull-shape issues that Cavs have. Not just the snout shape*
MVD is a known issue in most small breeds, it’s one of the biggest killers of Chihuahuas and imo, in Cavaliers (probably with chihuahuas too), it’s high prevalence is a direct consequence of a too small gene pool from breeding for a set type.

I agree with @Littlehouseonthefairy the answer is breeding for landrace, a loose ‘type’ where dogs are a mix of breeds and there is no breeding to strict specific standards, no one top stud fathering thousands of puppies.

Chiari like malformation and Syringomyelia has been found in most small breeds with domed skulls including Chihuahua, Maltese, Griffons and others.
Only the cavalier (as I understand) has a screening scheme for it but if all toy breeds were routinely screened I suspect the true incidence would thoroughly shock people.

I'm surprised it wasn't the King Charles rather than the Cavalier that was banned.