RSPCA report calls for an end to breeding for extreme features

The RSPCA has published a report, The Shape of Suffering, setting out the case for ending the breeding of dogs and other pets for extreme physical features. The headline figure is stark: the charity took in six French bulldogs in 2016 and 234 last year, a rise of around 3,800 per cent. Pugs coming into RSPCA centres rose by 192 per cent over the same comparison, and the charity reports an increase in British bulldogs being handed in too.

The charity links much of this to cost. Flat-faced conformation is associated with breathing difficulties that can require expensive and invasive surgery, and owners who cannot meet those bills are relinquishing dogs they intended to keep. Ashleigh Brown, the RSPCA's scientific and policy manager and lead author, said the traits are bred in "because people, and society, want them to look a certain way", and argued that no animal should suffer to meet a fashion. The report extends beyond flat-faced dogs to breeds including dachshunds, Cavalier King Charles spaniels and chihuahuas.

For breeders, the practical question is what selection decisions look like in light of this. Objective conformation assessment — respiratory function grading for brachycephalic breeds, and equivalent screening where it exists for other body shapes — gives a measurable basis for choosing which dogs to breed from, rather than relying on appearance alone. For buyers, it is worth asking what health screening a breeder has done on both parents and being cautious about any breed where a feature that looks appealing is also a known source of clinical problems. The RSPCA frames this as a solvable problem, and one where demand-side choices matter as much as breeding practice.