Future of Breeding: Impact of Xtreme Conformation on Welfare

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The world is waking up to the scale of suffering that dogs have endured for over a century due to our shared human fascination with extreme body features (conformation). Extreme conformation describes body features that are not propagated in nature but that humans have introduced through intentional selective breeding, despite severe health & welfare consequences for these animals. 

Over the past few hundred years, humans have manipulated the canine body shape to invent over 800 distinct dog breeds, with the modern domestic dog now having the dubious accolade as the most phenotypically diverse mammalian species on the planet. 

While many of these dog breeds offer body shapes with good innate health compatible with a good life, with some experts claiming that over a quarter of the 12 million dogs in the UK have extreme conformation with consequent suffering*, the sheer scale of which that is happening right now in the UK is called the 'Extreme Conformation Crisis' & should concern anyone who cares about dogs.

We need, should & must all come together to ensure a better future for dogs that is free of the suffering from extreme conformation.

This APDAWG & RVC event aims to bring humanity together as one to end the Extreme Conformation Crisis. Expert speakers will share their perspectives on the scale of extreme conformation issues as well as the resultant physical & emotional suffering in the wider dog population & charity sector. 

Current legal constraints on breeding from or for innately unhealthy extreme features & whether these are being followed will be explored. Emerging solutions to end this crisis will be proposed, including: 

• Power of collaborative policy change for welfare impact;
• Info on the APGAW ‘Innate Health Assessment’ & RKC ‘ ‘Nose-to-tail Visual Assessment' as educational & legal enforcement tools to assist both the public &  breeders to avoid acquiring or breeding non-pedigree (~75% of UK dogs) or pedigree (~25% of UK dogs) dogs with extreme conformation;
• Welfare opportunities from returning to routine outcrossing to re-empower caring breeders to reshape dogs back towards good innate health with functional bodies & genetic diversity.

The Extreme Conformation Crisis is not a biological problem (nature does not tolerate poor innate health from extreme conformation across generations) but is instead a human cognitive & emotional problem (humans do tolerate & even celebrate/commoditise poor innate health from extreme conformation). 

Given that the problem lies with humans, so too do the solutions. Our collective human & organisational actions have the capacity to draw a line under this period of humanity’s poor decisions for dogs & truly prioritise their welfare over our aesthetic preferences. 

During this joint APDAWG & RVC event, we will hear your collective voices in addition to the expert speakers. During an open discussion for all attendees after the formal presentations, ideas will be shared & commitments to positive welfare actions can be agreed.

This promises to be a lively, engaging event that will mark a key moment in our shared welfare goals of protecting the future of dog welfare from the past century of suffering resulting from breeding for extreme conformation.

*Ref: O'Neill, D.G., McMillan, K.M., Church, D.B. & Brodbelt, D.C. (2023) 'Dog breeds & conformations in the UK in 2019: VetCompass canine demography & some consequent welfare implications', PLoS One, 18(7), e0288081, available: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0288081

Guest speakers

1. Prof. Dan O’Neill (Royal Vet College): ‘What is Extreme Conformation & Why Does It Matter?’ Dan O’Neill is a vet with 22 years’ experience in general vet practice & 15 years in academia. As Professor of Companion Animal Epidemiology, Dan co-leads the VetCompass Research Programme at Royal Vet College (RVC) & has published over 185 peer-reviewed papers covering a wide range of aspects of extreme conformation in dogs. Dan has developed the Innate Health Concept that is reshaping how humanity thinks about health in companion animals & that is the theory underpinning the APGAW Innate Health Assessment.
2. Hannah Molloy (All-Party Parliamentary Dog Advisory Welfare Group) - ‘Social Silencing: How Morphology Impacts Welfare in the Social Arena.’ Hannah Molly is a qualified animal behaviourist & author of dog body language book ‘What’s My Dog Thinking’. She has trained over 10,000 pet & therapy dogs, as well as written the UK’s first Ofqual Regulated qualification in dog body language. Passionate on reducing dog bites & extreme conformation, Hannah now also works as a pet behaviour expert for Agria Pet Insurance, plus works closely to structure & deliver campaigns with the All-Party Parliamentary Dog Advisory Welfare Group (APDAWG) that help shape legislation.
3. Vanessa Barnes (All-Party Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare) – ‘The Legislative Landscape for Extreme Conformation Breeding & How the IHA Can Assist.’  Vanessa Barnes is an animal welfare lawyer & also works for the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare (APGAW) as their Legal Advisor. She is also a member of the Legal Advisory Group on Extreme Conformation in Dogs & has expertise in the regulation of dog breeding in England & devolved nations. 
4. Scott Fryer (Battersea) ‘The Impact of Extreme Aesthetics on the Animal Rescue Sector’ Scott is Battersea’s Policy Manager with over a decade of influencing governmental policy; responsible for overseeing & co-ordinating the development of Battersea’s internal & external policy stances which informs external facing comms, liaising & maintaining relationships with government departments advocating for improvements in policy & legislation to the benefit of animal welfare, representing Battersea on specialist policy & advocacy groups with sector colleagues. 
5. Dr Alison Skipper (Royal Kennel Club) - 'A New Future for Dog Breeding' - Royal Kennel Club's Breeding for Health Framework & Nose-to-Tail Visual Assessment' Alison is a vet with a background in general practice & research plus a PhD in the history of breed-related disease in pedigree dogs. She has worked to improve pedigree dog health for many years and is currently Vet & Research Advisor at the Royal Kennel Club.
6. Marisa Heath (All-Party Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare) – ‘The Power of Collaborative Policy for Positive Welfare Change: APGAW's Innate Health Assessment’ Marisa is the director of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare (APGAW), has authored several reports incl. 'A Healthier Future for Pedigree Dogs' & 'The Four Stages to Effective Animal Welfare Enforcement'. She has worked on several pieces of legislation from Animal Sentience, Ban on Live Exports & Licensing of Activities Involving Animals, plus has also been a member of DEFRA expert panels. Marisa also runs the Canine & Feline Sector Group advising government directly & Local Government Animal Welfare Group as well as several other orgs working around animal welfare, farming & land management. She has over 20 years’ experience across local government as an elected member.
7. Dr Rowena Packer -RVC – ‘Back to the Future: Embracing Outcrossing as a Mechanism to Reduce the Harms of Extreme Conformation’ Rowena is an animal welfare scientist who leads a research group exploring endemic & emerging dog welfare issues, incl. the impact of human knowledge, attitudes & behaviour on canine welfare, with a strong focus on dog breeding practices. Her PhD explored the impact of extreme conformation on canine health, results of which have gone on to influence international animal welfare legislation.

This meeting will be followed by drinks, food & networking at a nearby hotel bar. Thanks to Agria Pet Insurance for all their generous support.