Tuesday, September 08, 2009

The "Show of the Week" in Australia



The Sydney Morning Herald TV Guide features Pedigree Dogs Exposed as their "Show of the Week". Their review:

British filmmaker Jemima Harrison spent two years investigating the horrific health problems that decades of calculated inbreeding have created in many dog breeds.

Thankfully, the resulting documentary has already been influential. Pedigree Dogs Exposed was first broadcast in 2008 in Britain, where it created a furore and brought about a number of positive changes to dog-breeding practices. Hopefully it will do the same in Australia.

Harrison has done a fine job of editing a lot of material on a confronting subject. There is enough footage of animals suffering as a result of breeder obsessions with pure bloodlines and bizarre physical characteristics to make her point but not so much that viewers are likely to run screaming.

The Cavalier King Charles Spaniels with syringomyelia are perhaps hardest to watch. Syringomyelia is a genetic condition where the dog’s brain grows too large for its skull and intrudes into the spinal canal. It can be agonising and it’s now very common in the breed.

Also tough on the heart strings are the show Alsatians whose hind legs are so splayed – they’re described as “part dog, part frog” – they have trouble walking. The splaying is deliberately bred for and wins the breeders prizes.

Harrison digs up some fascinating archival photos showing dogs considered ideal examples of their breed 100 years ago and compares them with much-mutated contemporary specimens. Pity the unfortunate 21st-century daschund.

A number of breeders and Kennel Club officials also have their say, happily facing Harrison’s camera to provide blithe and unsatisfactory answers to her questions. In later parts, some breeders become openly hostile towards the filmmaker – particularly after she confronts a breeder at a dog show who has just won a major prize with a dog with syringomyelia.

Harrison does an impressive job of maintaining her equilibrium and persisting with her line of questioning.

Next week’s episode of Catalyst will feature a report on the state of play of dog breeding in Australia.

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2 comments:

panavia999 said...

Thanks for posting the information. I had no idea it was getting SO bad. I came across your blog by chance (googling info on badgers) and have been reading your posts with great interest - and I do not own dogs - I am a cat and horse person. But I prefer working dogs.

Viatecio said...

Panavia - Patrick has a whole slew of blogs on the damage done from pedigree dog breeding. Use the search bar at the top to look for things like "AKC," "Kennel Club," and also check out some of the Dog World essays posted here. It's quite disturbing.

I would postulate the situation is similar in some purebred cat breeds...I know munchkins are one of those weird breeds that have to be bred a certain way or else the short legs are lost. I'd cite more examples, but my knowledge of pedigree cat breeding is sadly nil...