Is Breeding for Exaggerated Brachycephaly Violation of Animal Welfare Legislation in Finland?
Ethical and welfare considerations are often not prioritized in animal breeding practices. Harmful breeding in fur animals, dogs, and cats are increasingly becoming part of the debate on animal welfare.
There is variable regulation of health requirements for breeding animals in different countries of the world.
In Finland, the breeding combination that produces a potentially ill offspring is prohibited under the Finnish Animal Welfare Act.
Because there is no effective case-law on how this part of the law should be interpreted and in what circumstances it should be applied, The Finnish Food Authority has commissioned a study on the Natural Resources Institute.
The aim of the study is to list canine hereditary characteristics of significant welfare factors that require the urgent implementation of the Animal Welfare Act and to define and develop tools for practical monitoring of animal welfare.
In addition, the aim of the study is to define limit values for situations where the Authority must assess whether there has been a violation of the animal welfare legislation in respect of breeding and the appropriate measures if a violation has happened. The most serious and widespread welfare handicaps can currently be attributed to the exaggerated short skulls, i.e. exaggerated brachycephaly.
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