It’s turned out to be a bit of a doggy week. Yesterday, an email plopped into my inbox from the animal rights charity Peta. ‘We have fired off a letter to the head of Channel 4 urging him to cut the organisation’s ties with the Crufts dog show,’ it said. Rubbish, I say.
It’s true that certain pedigree dogs have suffered as a result of inbreeding, and that some of the distinctive characteristics and physical traits that some breeds have are not beneficial for their health. But does this mean we should ban the show?
Almost all of the dogs who take part in Crufts are normal family pets. Others do hugely important jobs; there are categories for Dogs for the Disabled, Guide Dogs for the Blind, and police dogs. Day four of the event (Sunday) is devoted to the gun dog category, with many of the dogs being working dogs.
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