Breeding Trouble
The breeding industry also harms the animals it produces. Dogs and cats don’t care whether their appearance conforms to a judge’s standards, yet they’re the ones who suffer the consequences of humans’ manipulation. Inbreeding causes painful and even life-threatening genetic defects in “purebred” dogs and cats, including crippling hip dysplasia, blindness, deafness, heart defects, skin problems, and epilepsy.
Distorting animals for exaggerated physical features also causes severe health problems. For example, dachshunds’ long spinal columns often cause back problems, including disc disease. Dogs bred to have unnaturally flattened faces and short, pushed-in noses often have such difficulty breathing that exercise is all but impossible. As such, Norway has made it illegal to breed bulldogs and Cavalier King Charles spaniels because of the numerous health issues that plague these dogs.
Adoption: The Only Compassionate Option
There’s no excuse for breeding or buying animals. If you care about animals and are ready to commit to caring for a cat or a dog for the rest of the animal’s life, please adopt one (or, better yet, two who are compatible) from your local animal shelter. Animal shelters receive new animals every day, so keep checking back. When you find your new animal companion, you’ll be glad that you chose to adopt.
If you know anyone who is considering purchasing an animal instead of adopting from an animal shelter, please share this article with them. Please also consider making a donation today to support PETA’s vital work to save lives.
Missouri’s Proposition B was a catalyst –
Proposition B in Missouri, is important to us because it was the catalyst to start Protect the Harvest. When asked if he would allow a sign for the opposition of Proposition B to be placed on his ranch, our founder, Forrest Lucas, decided to do some investigation. What he discovered was alarming.
The Purebred Crisis: How dogs are being deformed in the name of fashion
As the dog’s popularity as a human companion has grown, demand for purebred dogs has likewise escalated. Commercial breeding of dogs, which currently helps to meet such demands has become a point of social contention. The co-evolution of dogs and humans and the unique, familial relationships people have developed with them suggest that they are owed special consideration of their needs and interests that is independent of their utility to humans. Not surprisingly, opposition to commercial breeding enterprises has increased dramatically in the past decade in the US and abroad, spawning a growing number of legislative initiatives aimed at regulating such operations, which are widely believed to harm dogs. Among the most significant ethical problems embedded in commercial dog breeding are the potential for insults to the human-dog bond, failure to duly consider and meet duties of care to dogs, including dogs’ welfare needs and interests, and insufficient regulation of dog care standards. The shortage of published science on the actual conditions experienced by dogs in commercial breeding kennels complicates understanding of the nature and severity of problems as well as solutions. It is argued that despite the concerns associated with commercial dog breeding, abolishing the practice without identifying an ethically preferable alternative that meets demands could result in even worse consequences for dogs. Given this problem, commercial breeding could be ethically defensible under conditions that vastly reduce or eliminate potential for dog suffering, and with strict regulatory oversight of corresponding standards of care for dogs.
As the dog’s popularity as a human companion has grown, demand for purebred dogs has likewise escalated. Commercial breeding of dogs, which currently helps to meet such demands has become a point of social contention. The co-evolution of dogs and humans and the unique, familial relationships people have developed with them suggest that they are owed special consideration of their needs and interests that is independent of their utility to humans. Not surprisingly, opposition to commercial breeding enterprises has increased dramatically in the past decade in the US and abroad, spawning a growing number of legislative initiatives aimed at regulating such operations, which are widely believed to harm dogs. Among the most significant ethical problems embedded in commercial dog breeding are the potential for insults to the human-dog bond, failure to duly consider and meet duties of care to dogs, including dogs’ welfare needs and interests, and insufficient regulation of dog care standards. The shortage of published science on the actual conditions experienced by dogs in commercial breeding kennels complicates understanding of the nature and severity of problems as well as solutions. It is argued that despite the concerns associated with commercial dog breeding, abolishing the practice without identifying an ethically preferable alternative that meets demands could result in even worse consequences for dogs. Given this problem, commercial breeding could be ethically defensible under conditions that vastly reduce or eliminate potential for dog suffering, and with strict regulatory oversight of corresponding standards of care for dogs.
As one of the earliest domesticated animal species (Clutton-Brock, 1995), the relationships between people and dogs around the world are diverse and ubiquitous. Archeological evidence suggests that humans and dogs have coexisted for thousands of years (Miklosi, 2014). Today dogs rank among the most popular pets people keep, particularly in western cultures (Archer, 1997; King et al., 2012). In the United States (US), the domestic dog is such a popular companion animal that over 60 million households reportedly keep one or more (American Pet Products Association, 2017). Equally high rates of dog ownership are reported in Australia and the United Kingdom, where over 60% and 50% of households respectively report keeping dogs (Goodwin et al., 2018). The popularity of dogs as companions is further evidenced by the substantial and ongoing increase in expenditures on pet-related products that has occurred in the past decade (Bir et al., 2016; APPA, 2017).
Although people’s reasons for keeping dogs may vary, the benefits of human-dog relationships for human physical, psycho-social well-being are well documented (Vormbrock, 1988; Cutt et al., 2007; Wells, 2007; Knight et al., 2008; Christian et al., 2012). Consistent with these findings, respondents to the American Pet Products Association National Pet Owner Survey (2017) who kept dogs reported that they derived happiness and emotional support from their pets, experienced stress relief and lower anxiety or depression, as well as health benefits that included lower blood pressure and increased exercise. Dogs likewise benefit from relationships with people; domestication is suggested to have enhanced their social and communication abilities, cooperative existence and hunting with each other and humans (Morey, 1994; Hare et al., 2002). It is also thought to have facilitated dogs’ nutritional status (Axelsson et al., 2013), benefiting their reproductive success and longevity (Coppinger & Coppinger, 2001). The impacts of the bonds between people and dogs undoubtedly impacts contemporary views of dogs and our perceived obligations toward them. As dog-human relationships continue to evolve, views on what we owe to dogs are changing accordingly.
An overwhelming number of Americans now think of dogs as family members (Holbrook & Woodside, 2008; Bir et al., 2016), building on trends toward such views that have been documented since at least the 1980s (Cain, 1983; Stallones et al., 1988). Unsurprisingly, as the market for companion dogs grows along with familial characterizations of them, public concern for their welfare is escalating. This has culminated in fractious debates about how to meet the demand for companion dogs, while sustainably and ethically sourcing them. Commercial dog breeders currently help to supply US consumers with the purebred and ‘designer’ dogs they desire (Hurt et al., 2016; Bauer et al., 2017). In the US, dogs from such kennels are typically made available to consumers through sales in pet stores or via online retailers. However, the ethical issues embedded in high volume, commercial production of dogs are considerable, leading to skepticism about whether there can be any moral justification for such operations. The purported harms to dog welfare in commercial breeding operations, facilitated by thinking of and treating them as mere commodities, and inadequate regulation of dog care and welfare standards rank high among the most serious reported problems. Further, the venues that are supplied by commercial breeders enable such easy access to dogs, that it has been suggested that this facilitates impulse purchasing that may not result in best outcomes for dogs. In light of these concerns, I consider whether commercial dog breeding, in any form, can be ethically defended. In this paper, I do not defend any particular position on the moral justifiability of keeping or breeding dogs. Instead, I explore the ethical implications of commodification of dogs, public perceptions and behaviors relative to dog acquisition, and the roles these factors play in supporting commercial breeding. Next, I explore significant physical and behavioral well-being challenges that must be navigated within commercial (and other) breeding of dogs. I then review the implications of different approaches to regulating commercial dog breeding, arguing that attempts at wholesale bans on commercial breeding in absence of a suitable alternative to meet or curtail demands for dogs potentially do more to jeopardize than to improve dog welfare. Finally, I challenge the notion that commercial dog breeding is entirely indefensible, offering arguments for how such breeding conducted under specific conditions might help to ensure a sustainable supply of companion dogs, while reducing existing harms to them.
As the dog’s popularity as a human companion has grown, demand for purebred dogs has likewise escalated. Commercial breeding of dogs, which currently helps to meet such demands has become a point of social contention. The co-evolution of dogs and humans and the unique, familial relationships people have developed with them suggest that they are owed special consideration of their needs and interests that is independent of their utility to humans. Not surprisingly, opposition to commercial breeding enterprises has increased dramatically in the past decade in the US and abroad, spawning a growing number of legislative initiatives aimed at regulating such operations, which are widely believed to harm dogs. Among the most significant ethical problems embedded in commercial dog breeding are the potential for insults to the human-dog bond, failure to duly consider and meet duties of care to dogs, including dogs’ welfare needs and interests, and insufficient regulation of dog care standards. The shortage of published science on the actual conditions experienced by dogs in commercial breeding kennels complicates understanding of the nature and severity of problems as well as solutions. It is argued that despite the concerns associated with commercial dog breeding, abolishing the practice without identifying an ethically preferable alternative that meets demands could result in even worse consequences for dogs. Given this problem, commercial breeding could be ethically defensible under conditions that vastly reduce or eliminate potential for dog suffering, and with strict regulatory oversight of corresponding standards of care for dogs.
As the dog’s popularity as a human companion has grown, demand for purebred dogs has likewise escalated. Commercial breeding of dogs, which currently helps to meet such demands has become a point of social contention. The co-evolution of dogs and humans and the unique, familial relationships people have developed with them suggest that they are owed special consideration of their needs and interests that is independent of their utility to humans. Not surprisingly, opposition to commercial breeding enterprises has increased dramatically in the past decade in the US and abroad, spawning a growing number of legislative initiatives aimed at regulating such operations, which are widely believed to harm dogs. Among the most significant ethical problems embedded in commercial dog breeding are the potential for insults to the human-dog bond, failure to duly consider and meet duties of care to dogs, including dogs’ welfare needs and interests, and insufficient regulation of dog care standards. The shortage of published science on the actual conditions experienced by dogs in commercial breeding kennels complicates understanding of the nature and severity of problems as well as solutions. It is argued that despite the concerns associated with commercial dog breeding, abolishing the practice without identifying an ethically preferable alternative that meets demands could result in even worse consequences for dogs. Given this problem, commercial breeding could be ethically defensible under conditions that vastly reduce or eliminate potential for dog suffering, and with strict regulatory oversight of corresponding standards of care for dogs.
As one of the earliest domesticated animal species (Clutton-Brock, 1995), the relationships between people and dogs around the world are diverse and ubiquitous. Archeological evidence suggests that humans and dogs have coexisted for thousands of years (Miklosi, 2014). Today dogs rank among the most popular pets people keep, particularly in western cultures (Archer, 1997; King et al., 2012). In the United States (US), the domestic dog is such a popular companion animal that over 60 million households reportedly keep one or more (American Pet Products Association, 2017). Equally high rates of dog ownership are reported in Australia and the United Kingdom, where over 60% and 50% of households respectively report keeping dogs (Goodwin et al., 2018). The popularity of dogs as companions is further evidenced by the substantial and ongoing increase in expenditures on pet-related products that has occurred in the past decade (Bir et al., 2016; APPA, 2017).
Although people’s reasons for keeping dogs may vary, the benefits of human-dog relationships for human physical, psycho-social well-being are well documented (Vormbrock, 1988; Cutt et al., 2007; Wells, 2007; Knight et al., 2008; Christian et al., 2012). Consistent with these findings, respondents to the American Pet Products Association National Pet Owner Survey (2017) who kept dogs reported that they derived happiness and emotional support from their pets, experienced stress relief and lower anxiety or depression, as well as health benefits that included lower blood pressure and increased exercise. Dogs likewise benefit from relationships with people; domestication is suggested to have enhanced their social and communication abilities, cooperative existence and hunting with each other and humans (Morey, 1994; Hare et al., 2002). It is also thought to have facilitated dogs’ nutritional status (Axelsson et al., 2013), benefiting their reproductive success and longevity (Coppinger & Coppinger, 2001). The impacts of the bonds between people and dogs undoubtedly impacts contemporary views of dogs and our perceived obligations toward them. As dog-human relationships continue to evolve, views on what we owe to dogs are changing accordingly.
An overwhelming number of Americans now think of dogs as family members (Holbrook & Woodside, 2008; Bir et al., 2016), building on trends toward such views that have been documented since at least the 1980s (Cain, 1983; Stallones et al., 1988). Unsurprisingly, as the market for companion dogs grows along with familial characterizations of them, public concern for their welfare is escalating. This has culminated in fractious debates about how to meet the demand for companion dogs, while sustainably and ethically sourcing them. Commercial dog breeders currently help to supply US consumers with the purebred and ‘designer’ dogs they desire (Hurt et al., 2016; Bauer et al., 2017). In the US, dogs from such kennels are typically made available to consumers through sales in pet stores or via online retailers. However, the ethical issues embedded in high volume, commercial production of dogs are considerable, leading to skepticism about whether there can be any moral justification for such operations. The purported harms to dog welfare in commercial breeding operations, facilitated by thinking of and treating them as mere commodities, and inadequate regulation of dog care and welfare standards rank high among the most serious reported problems. Further, the venues that are supplied by commercial breeders enable such easy access to dogs, that it has been suggested that this facilitates impulse purchasing that may not result in best outcomes for dogs. In light of these concerns, I consider whether commercial dog breeding, in any form, can be ethically defended. In this paper, I do not defend any particular position on the moral justifiability of keeping or breeding dogs. Instead, I explore the ethical implications of commodification of dogs, public perceptions and behaviors relative to dog acquisition, and the roles these factors play in supporting commercial breeding. Next, I explore significant physical and behavioral well-being challenges that must be navigated within commercial (and other) breeding of dogs. I then review the implications of different approaches to regulating commercial dog breeding, arguing that attempts at wholesale bans on commercial breeding in absence of a suitable alternative to meet or curtail demands for dogs potentially do more to jeopardize than to improve dog welfare. Finally, I challenge the notion that commercial dog breeding is entirely indefensible, offering arguments for how such breeding conducted under specific conditions might help to ensure a sustainable supply of companion dogs, while reducing existing harms to them.