Dog-Breeding Gone Wrong

The Bulldog

Bulldogs sure are endearing, and bulldog lovers may love their pets to death, literaly. You see, bulldogs are bred to look that way, and the lengths that people are willing to go to get that cute look is killing the breed:

“It is the most extreme example of genetic manipulation in the dog-breeding world that results in congenital and hereditary problems,” Pacelle said.
Brenda Bonnett, a consulting veterinary epidemiologist and a speaker at the conference, outlined the results of her study of Swedish dog-insurance data from 1995 to 2006. She told conference attendees that bulldogs are significantly more likely than other dogs to suffer from a wide range of health issues, including ear and eye problems, skin infections, respiratory issues, immunological and neurological problems and locomotor challenges.

Can the bulldog be saved? Benoit Denizet-Lewis wrote an interesting article for The New York Times Magazine about how the bulldog breed can redesigned ... and whether we should do so: here.