Target: Alistair Carmichael, Chair of UK Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee
Goal: Ban breeding of animals born with painful and unhealthy physical characteristics.
Across the world, nations are taking action against “extreme breeding,” in which animals are bred to possess traits that are painful to them. Germany, for example, has a law on the books that considers extreme breeding – or “torture breeding” – as a form of animal cruelty punishable by fines and jail time. In the United States, some regions like New Hampshire have made similar moves to outlaw the breeding and even the sale of animals produced from such breeding practices.
The United Kingdom could soon join their ranks with an even more comprehensive proposal. The UK, which already bans certain danger-prone breeds like XL bullies, has developed an Innate Health Assessment. The checklist – in voluntary use currently – evaluates dog breeds based on roughly ten factors to make a determination about their health and well-being. Breeds that fail the test and that indicate health or pain issues due to their physical make-up move to a list where they are off-limits to licensed breeders. If the assessment was to become part of broader UK law, then nearly six dozen breeds would fall on the list. A movement has begun to make the Innate Health Assessment mandatory law. Some advocates are also calling for other animals commonly bred with painful physical features – such as cats and horses – to be placed under the law’s protection as well.
Sign the petition below to urge the UK to make this long-overdue move that could save countless animals from a life of suffering.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Chair Carmichael,
The all-party parliamentary group for animal welfare’s Innate Health Assessment could help curtail one of the most insidious and longest-lasting forms of animal cruelty. This assessment identifies dog breeds victimised by extreme or torture breeding: a horrific practice that sacrifices an animal’s health and well-being for “cuteness” or “trendiness.” While a singular act of animal cruelty can leave scars and temporary pain, for animals subjected to extreme breeding the pain lasts a lifetime…and their own bodies become the scar that can never be erased.
The Innate Health Assessment should not only be mandatory across the UK, but it should also include cats, horses, and any animal under the care of humans forced to endure the same crippling pain. UK veterinarians recently spoke out after photographs of the Arabian horse El Rey Magnum – bred to have a deformed skull that could create serious breathing problems – emerged, along with boasts about the animal’s large price tag. And organisations like Cats Protection have long lobbied for stricter regulations on cat breeding licences.
Please stand with a growing number of nations and take a decisive stand against torture disguised as breeding.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: HTO
