Breeders Behaving Badly, Again

I am OK with the idea that, if you are a breeder, you need to be held to some pretty high standards for care of your dogs, or else all the show win ribbons in the world don’t mean a whole lot.

Sadly, that hasn’t always been the case, as this story from the UK Daily Mail illustrates –

They were highly respected national champions and had even won at Crufts.

Yet, behind the scores of rosettes proudly hung around their terraced home, their beloved pets were living in unimaginable squalor.

A total of 104 dogs were discovered in cramped conditions and surrounded by their own faeces when RSPCA officers raided the property in February last year.

Some of the dogs were kept in filthy cages with no lighting, bedding or fresh water and some were injured or diseased, with untreated ailments.

After an exhaustive investigation lasting 16 months and costing the taxpayer £68,000, Mrs Humes and her daughter yesterday pleaded guilty to 23 animal welfare offences.

They were sentenced to a three-year community order and a three-year conditional discharge.

I keep hearing about this ‘revolution’ that’s going on in the world of UK dog showing – how new standards are being set for care and health of show dogs, and how there will be zero tolerance for breeders who don’t step up to the plate and start putting the well being of their dogs above their show ring wins.

Explain to me, then, how this is true –

..both allowed to keep five dogs each. It is believed that the judge’s decision was based on the fact that the women were capable of looking after animals if they had fewer numbers of them.

Leading to this quote from the Kennel Club –

‘We will always follow up relevant criminal convictions with an investigation and impose disciplinary penalties, if appropriate.

‘However, we are always obliged to await the outcome and absolute conclusion of the respective criminal proceedings, including any appeals, before taking any steps.

So, while the pair are appealing – a process which can take literally years, they will be allowed to own ten dogs between them (for now – and we all now how quickly ten intact dogs could balloon into another horrific number), and they’ll also be allowed to continue to show, even at Crufts.

The Kennel Club had a chance, here, to make a stand – to say “We will not allow these women to show, because their actions are so appalling”. They chose not to, and that choice says more about their core values than any spouting of nonsense about changes to the standards ever could about how much they actually care about the dogs they are mandated to represent.

Abuse is abuse, whether you have a closet stuffed full of ribbons, or are a puppy mill in the middle of nowhere.
Read the rest: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2004359/Crufts-winning-mother-daughter-plead-guilty-keeping-104-dogs-horrific-conditions.html#ixzz1PYMKq5q7