British Dog Breeds ‘At Risk Of Extinction’

By ⋅ January 30, 2012 ⋅ Post a comment
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English Setter (Photo: Angela/Wiki Commons)

The English setter has seen a steep decline in registrations over 10 years. (Photo: Angela/Wiki Commons)

British dog breeds such as the English Setter are being pushed towards extinction by the growing popularity of more exotic dogs such as Chihuahuas, new figures suggest.

The setter, once a popular working dog, is one of the country’s oldest breeds.

But statistics from the Kennel Club show a two-thirds decline in puppy registrations over the last 10 years.

The Chihuahua, popularised by celebrity owners like Paris Hilton, saw a 25% increase in registrations last year.

Anchor Marco Werman talks with Caroline Kisko of the UK Kennel Club.

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One comment for “British Dog Breeds ‘At Risk Of Extinction’”

  • http://ruthcrisler.wordpress.com/ Ruth Crisler

    I’ve been training dogs professionally for 13 years, and have owned a daycare, boarding, and training facility in Chicago for the last 9 of those. I listen to The World often and usually enjoy it.

    Perhaps no one on staff has a keen enough, or at least broad enough, interest in dogs to be aware of the enormous controversy surrounding the policies of the United Kennel Club, and to a slightly lesser extent, the American Kennel Club. But to many of us in the field, and in the trenches, the interview given by Caroline Kisko smacks as a desperate attempt at distortion.

    Many “pure” breeds are so riddled with deformities and disease, that “extinction” may be inevitable. And this dilemma is well understood to be about as close to a direct result of the policies of the major kennel clubs as anything gets.

    Seriously, when you start with a limited gene pool to begin with, close the registries to “impure” blood, then breed for style almost exclusively, and very often to the detriment of health and temperament, what do you expect to happen?

    There is an obvious explanation for mutts being healthier on average than “purebreds”. Nature rewards health and fitness, whereas the Kennel Club does not. “Nothing could be further from the truth?!”

    Spare me.