Royal Canin has brought together five prominent organisations to tackle the unethical breeding and extreme conformation of cats and dogs.

The roundtable event, which took place yesterday in Brussels, focused on the attending organisations’ commitment to develop and implement a unified strategy to these two linked issues. At the heart of the discussion was the shared intent to set up a global coalition working together to tackle future unethical breeding and extreme conformation for cats and dogs. The scale of these issues in cats and dogs today is unprecedented.

Unethical breeding includes producing pets under poor conditions, often because the focus is mainly on profit with limited consideration for pet health or wellbeing. Unethical breeders often trade their puppies illegally using classified ads or social media. Research from FOUR PAWS showed that almost half of the puppies acquired through these medias were brought home when too young, with over a quarter being less than seven weeks old and almost a third of all puppies becoming sick after purchase.

Extreme conformation in cats and dogs describes body shapes that do not occur in nature and that are associated with serious health and wellbeing consequences for these animals. Unethical breeding and extreme conformation are complex challenges that are interrelated and have become more prevalent.

Cécile Coutens, President of Royal Canin, comments: “At Royal Canin, pet health and wellbeing has always been at the core of our business. For decades, we have been working with partners to create a better world for cats and dogs. Unethical breeding and extreme conformation are complex issues that are far bigger than any one organisation. By working as a collective, bringing together vets, researchers, breeders, kennel clubs, NGOs and authorities, we now have the power to drive meaningful change and empower more people to choose health.”

Participants joining Royal Canin at yesterday’s event included World Small Animal Veterinary Association; Royal Veterinary College; International Collaborative on Extreme Conformation in Dogs; FOUR PAWS; and Fédération Cynologique Internationale. Each of these organizations have been taking actions to decrease unethical breeding and extreme conformation, and the roundtable provided an important opportunity to map out ways to coordinate, grow these efforts and drive progress on everyone’s shared goals.

Dr Monique Megens, Chair of ICECDogs, emphasizes: “We can only secure a sustainable future for dog health and wellbeing through united, multi-stakeholder efforts at both national and global levels."

Dr Åke Hedhammar, a long-lasting member of WSAVA Hereditary Disease Committee and emeritus professor in Small Animal Medicine says: “We call for and will promote breed improvement in cats and dogs into the physically and mentally healthy variations in shape, function and behaviour they were meant for.”

Dr Tamas Jakkel, FCI President, FCI Judge & President of the Hungarian Kennel Club’s Judges’ Board commented: “This meeting was an important moment for us all. We are ready to find partners in the betterment of responsible breeding and ownership. Every effective animal welfare activity starts with a good breeding program and choosing the responsible, individual new owner for puppies.”

Dr Dan O’Neill, Associate Professor in Companion Animal Epidemiology at the RVC said: “Extreme body conformation as a human-made and preventable harm is the most pressing health and welfare issue for domestic dogs right now. In a perfect world, every cat and dog is produced or acquired with an anticipation of being able to breathe, exercise, sleep, blink, eat, keep cool, wag a tail, be pain-free and reproduce naturally. This new Royal Canin Roundtable will substantially help to make this natural life for all cats and dogs into a reality.”

Royal Canin has a long history of championing health in pets. Its “Choose Health” initiative is a collaborative program of activities dedicated to fighting unethical breeding and extreme conformation. The initiative focuses on driving responsible pet ownership and breeding, for a world that puts pet health first over extreme physical appearance. The initiative’s objective is to inspire and empower dedicated action from individuals and organisations spanning the pet welfare field to decrease unethical breeding and extreme conformation by 2030.

Do not hesitate to fullfill the FOUR PAWS survey: https://www.four-paws.org/campaigns-topics/campaigns/buying-a-puppy/pandemic-pups