ANKC accuses scientists of "relentless attack" on pedigree dogs

The above clip is an excerpt from yesterday's ABC The Drum - a popular early evening news/current affairs programme in Australia.  It's just one of a host of pieces in the media following the publication yesterday of a new paper, from a team at the University of Sydney, that documents the trend towards smaller, flatter-faced dogs - similar to that seen in the US and the UK, too.

Significantly, the paper (and indeed all the media coverage) highlights the fact that flat-faced breeds such as Pugs, French Bulldogs and Bulldogs are more susceptible to respiratory, digestive, skin and eye conditions and that on average they die four years earlier than more 'normal' breeds of dog.

It's provoked an angry response from the Australian National Kennel Club (ANKC), which has accused the researchers and others of being part of a "relentless attack on purebred dogs".

Yesterday, on its Facebook page, the ANKC published a rebuttal - although today, after it appeared to get increasingly stressed about a small number of critical comments, the whole page was taken down.

Fortunately, nothing posted on the internet ever properly disappears; you'll find a copy of the whole statement below.

Much of it falls into the category of logical fallacy - essentially, flawed reasoning used by someone trying to counter a fact or view they don't like.

• "ANKC Ltd are disappointed with the comments in the ABC article attributed to Assoc. Prof.Zuber and Dr.Crawford which continue the relentless attack on purebred dogs"

Yep... because there's got to be an anti-purebred agenda here - rather than, you know, there is actually a problem with flat-faced dogs.  After all, there is now an enormous amount of peer-reviewed science articulating the issue. 

This is an ad hominem attack on two professionals who are much more likely to be expressing their genuine concern that some dogs have problems living because of the way they've been bred - after a lifetime's experience treating them.

Both Max Zuber and Julia Crawford are senior veterinary surgeons. Implying some ulterior motive may play well with the ANKC electorate, but it will not wash with the general public.

• "...amongst some of the inaccuracies in the article is the age to which Bulldogs can live, healthy Bulldogs from caring and responsible breeders can live to in excess of 10 years."

It is true that some Bulldogs live to 10 or more (although no evidence that these are only dogs from "caring and responsible breeders")  The point is that most studies have found that the average age of death is six years old. There is also a good recent study (see here) that found that brachycephalic (short-faced) breeds die, on average, four years earlier than non-brachy breeds.

• "It is regrettable that, in articles on the state of pedigree dogs health there is no acknowledgment of the multi thousands of dollars spent by ANKC Ltd Breeders on health testing and support of ongoing research into Canine Heritable Diseases.  The Canine Research Foundation (CRF) is the official vehicle for funding ANKC Ltd research programs, it is an independent public charitable trust and is funded by a $1 levy on every puppy registered with the ANKC, A good proportion of the funds have been allocated to researchers at Sydney University a fact which Prof.Zuber and others choose not to acknowledge. Since 2000 CRF grants to researchers at Sydney University have totalled $324,000"

I certainly understand why the ANKC would like it mentioned that it funds health research - but that isn't the story here.  The story is simply that there's been a big increase in the number of these dogs being bred and that it represents a welfare issue.

Worryingly, in the listing of all the money the ANKC has given to the University, there is the heavy implication that the ANKC feels the University is biting the hand that feeds it (and indeed, there were a couple of comments to this effect on the FB page before it was taken down). Here's one - which prompted a sharp comment from another poster.

I sincerely hope the University of Sydney will not allow its scientific independence and integrity to be compromised.  Unfortunately, I know of others that have bowed to pressure from kennel clubs for those important canine research dollars and pounds.

• Of the estimated 341,000 puppies bred in Australia in 2015 only 20% (66,000) came from ANKC Ltd Breeders, it is from the 275,00 non registered puppies that most of the problems associated with BOAS are found. 

So show us the research that proves this is true... Only of course they can't because there isn't any. There are no required health tests as a condition of ANKC registration for Bulldogs, Pugs and French Bulldogs and those that win in the ring are, unfortunately, often among the most exaggerated. Indeed, there is quite a market in Australia for alternative Bulldogs with more moderate features because they often cope better with the Australian climate, but these are not recognised by the ANKC and, indeed, would be considered mongrels.

Hell, the ANKC breed standard for Bulldogs still requires that  the skull "should be very large - the larger the better"; a requirement that is clearly detrimental to health and one of the reasons why most Bulldogs are born by C-section. Before the ANKC took down its page, it defended this by pointing out that it didn't adopt the new UK Bulldog standard (which asks for a more moderate "relatively large" skull) because of resistance from Australian Bulldog breeders.

Right. And you want us to take you seriously regarding your commitment to purebred dog health?

There were another couple of interesting posts on the ANKC page before it disappeared too - this one from Maria Karlsson, who happens to be a Swedish veterinary surgeon.

The ANKC's response:

The page disappeared shortly afterwards. It is impossible to know for sure who the author of the ANKC's comments was, but the statement itself was written by Hugh Gent, President of the ANKC. (He says so on his Facebook page).

It was also Mr Gent who posted a link to a study on BOAS (Brachycephalic Obstructed Airway Syndrome) in French Bulldogs, without making it clear that it was a study funded by the UK Kennel Club and nothing to do with the ANKC.  UK vet nurse Katy Price commented to point out that the study had found that almost 50 per cent of Frenchies had trouble breathing and then attempted to post a link to another study on BOAS done by researchers at the Royal Veterinary College. Her comment was removed and she was blocked.

The ANKC's rebuttal statement in full:

ANKC Ltd are disappointed with the comments in the ABC article attributed to Assoc. Prof.Zuber and Dr.Crawford which continue the relentless attack on purebred dogs, amongst some of the inaccuracies in the article is the age to which Bulldogs can live, healthy Bulldogs from caring and responsible breeders can live to in excess of 10 years. 

It is regrettable that, in articles on the state of pedigree dogs health there is no acknowledgment of the multi thousands of dollars spent by ANKC Ltd Breeders on health testing and support of ongoing research into Canine Heritable Diseases . The Canine Research Foundation (CRF) is the official vehicle for funding ANKC Ltd research programs, it is an independent public charitable trust and is funded by a $1 levy on every puppy registered with the ANKC, A good proportion of the funds have been allocated to researchers at Sydney University a fact which Prof.Zuber and others choose not to acknowledge. Since 2000 CRF grants to researchers at Sydney University have totalled $324,000 they include: Dr Christine Griebsch for Evaluation of serial thromboelastography and platelet mapping in dogs with immunemediated haemolytic anemia treated with aspirin or clopidogrel. Assoc Professor Peter Williamson for research into Genetic management of canine lymphoma and Primary immunodeficiency in Australian German Shepherds, and a study of integrated genomics source for the health and well-being of dogs in Australia. Dr.Chris Weir for Efficacy of a personalised tumour vaccine to treat dogs with cancer. Dr.Katrina Bosward for Coxiella burnetii (Q fever): is this an important agent of disease in Australian dogs and reservoir for human infection?. Dr.P.Sheehy, Generation of ‘clinic ready’ canine induced pluripotent stem cells for regenerative medicine. Dr.Govendir Improving therapeutic control of seizures and Long term use of phenobarbitone in idiopathic epilepsy. Dr.A.Dart Magnetic resonance imaging as a predictor of stifle pathology in naturally occurring cruciate ligament disease in dogs. 

In a recent interview with the ABC on the subject of brachycephalic breeds ANKC Ltd President Hugh Gent OAM conceded that the whelping of Bulldog puppies was a problem with a large percentage requiring caesareans, however, further information on research into the problem, given to the ABC in the interview has yet to be presented. 

What is not recognised by many commentators on the health of pedigree dogs is that there are two sources for obtaining puppies, in Australia, Registered Breeders and those who are not constrained by codes of ethics regarding health testing and programs to eliminate hereditary diseases, the majority of whom sell their puppies through the Internet. Of the estimated 341,000 puppies bred in Australia in 2015 only 20% (66,000) came from ANKC Ltd Breeders, it is from the 275,00 non registered puppies that most of the problems associated with BOAS are found. A separate posting will be made regarding important research in to BOAS.