The Worst In Show
In their endless quest to prove how stupid they are, the EU is now threatening to shut down dog breeders.
DOG breeders have warned that some of Britain’s best-loved breeds including dachshunds, bulldogs and basset hounds could disappear because of new and potentially far-reaching government animal-welfare measures.
The Scotsman has learned that ministers in Edinburgh and London are preparing to ratify a controversial Europe-wide treaty that could set strict limits on the breeding and handling of animals.
The European Convention on the Protection of Pet Animals is enthusiastically supported by animal-welfare groups, and rejected by dog breeders, who say it would impose a “sweeping” curb on their activities.
The convention states that animal breeders must be held accountable for any “anatomical, physiological and behavioural characteristics which are likely to put at risk the health and welfare of either the offspring or the female parent”.
Annexes to the document set down precise limits on physical characteristics like the length of a dog’s back relative to its legs, the length of its ears and the dimensions of its head and nose.
“Animal welfare groups” has become a euphemism for crazed anti-humanists. In some European countries that have accorded animals the same rights as humans, or are trying to. The bureaucrats in Brussels seem determind to regulate everything to the point where nothing can be done without their approval. They mke teh old Soviet Union look enlightened by comparison.
A few years back in the UK the animal nuts sleazed through two laws that, working together, essentially banned tail and ear docking of dogs. In a classic example of unintended consequences, the corgi breeders began selecting for natural bobtails (in an average Pembroke corgi littler, one or two have no tails or just little stumps).
However, this has lead to problems with spina bifida, hip dysplasia, and other genetic issues. This is really unfortunate, as Pembrokes used to be one of the healthiest dog breeds. And all for nothing--docking is done by putting a small rubber band over the tail just after birth, when the pups’ brains are not fully developed. They feel no pain and in fact don’t react at all. The tail shrivels and drops off after a couple days.
Good move, guys.Posted by on 04/30 at 12:10 PM
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