Inbreeding dogs should be illegal. If you breed dogs (or cats/other pets), you should be required to submit proof that the parents are genetically far enough apart.
However, sometimes it’s not the dog that’s the problem, it’s the food. Pet food has basically no regulations and no real way to independently verify the quality of ingredients, so companies will use the cheapest scraps possible that were otherwise headed for the dumpster, while charging similar to or even more than human food. And they’ll blatantly lie in their marketing material claiming they only use the most wholesome ingredients, because they know full well there’s no way for you to actually prove or disprove that.
Responsible breeders do. The rest are puppy/kitten mills. We have a ragdoll style cat, for instance, and it has 5 generations of family tree (with reg numbers) in its documentation and contract.
Yeah, my point is puppy/kitten mills should be criminalized under animal cruelty laws, like dog fighting is. Conceptually they’re not that dissimilar: both activities intentionally cause animal suffering for the express purpose of making as much profit as possible.
There is indeed a law to handle animal cruelty in the form of neglect. The SPCA used to perform the investigations in this region, as Special Constables, and bring in the regular constables if there was a case.
Now with 17 different “lost pet” sites sapping donations and awareness from a consolidated shelter setup, any chance of a trained SpC getting onsite to investigate is kinda impossible.
sure but are there any rules on the genetic difference of the ancestors? ragdolls are famously inbred and have a variety of common health issues which lead to a shortened lifespan and a bunch of suffering
Inbreeding dogs should be illegal. If you breed dogs (or cats/other pets), you should be required to submit proof that the parents are genetically far enough apart.
However, sometimes it’s not the dog that’s the problem, it’s the food. Pet food has basically no regulations and no real way to independently verify the quality of ingredients, so companies will use the cheapest scraps possible that were otherwise headed for the dumpster, while charging similar to or even more than human food. And they’ll blatantly lie in their marketing material claiming they only use the most wholesome ingredients, because they know full well there’s no way for you to actually prove or disprove that.
Responsible breeders do. The rest are puppy/kitten mills. We have a ragdoll style cat, for instance, and it has 5 generations of family tree (with reg numbers) in its documentation and contract.
Yeah, my point is puppy/kitten mills should be criminalized under animal cruelty laws, like dog fighting is. Conceptually they’re not that dissimilar: both activities intentionally cause animal suffering for the express purpose of making as much profit as possible.
There is indeed a law to handle animal cruelty in the form of neglect. The SPCA used to perform the investigations in this region, as Special Constables, and bring in the regular constables if there was a case.
Now with 17 different “lost pet” sites sapping donations and awareness from a consolidated shelter setup, any chance of a trained SpC getting onsite to investigate is kinda impossible.
Thanks, rando lost-pet sites!
sure but are there any rules on the genetic difference of the ancestors? ragdolls are famously inbred and have a variety of common health issues which lead to a shortened lifespan and a bunch of suffering
If you’re deadset on a specific breed of dog that isn’t usually at shelters, make sure the breeder is an AKC member for this very reason.