Video: Animal Activists Storm Arena at Crufts ‘Best in Show’

For Immediate Release:
11 March 2018

Contact:
Olivia Jordan +44 (0) 20 7837 6327, ext 229; [email protected]

VIDEO: ANIMAL ACTIVISTS STORM ARENA AT CRUFTS ‘BEST IN SHOW’

Protesters Blast Dog Show for Promoting Breeding of Animals With Abnormal and Harmful Physical Traits

Birmingham – Moments ago, in an action organised by PETA, two Vegan Strike activists rushed the main floor at Crufts dog show as judges announced the “Best in Show” winner. Brandishing posters reading, “Crufts: Canine Eugenics”, the activists drew attention to the plight of dogs bred by humans to have unnatural, exaggerated features – all to meet The Kennel Club’s “Breed Standards”.

Video footage can be viewed here.

“Crufts glorifies pedigree fetishists’ twisted pursuit of the ‘perfect’ dog,” says PETA Director Elisa Allen. “There’s nothing natural about breeding dogs with extreme and debilitating physical traits, and PETA urges everyone to stay away from this cruel beauty pageant.”

PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way” – notes that breeding pedigree dogs in abnormal shapes and sizes leaves them with genetic predispositions to epilepsy, heart disease, deafness, hip dysplasia, and numerous other health problems. Many bulldogs, pugs, Pekingese, and other brachycephalic (flat-faced) dogs cannot breathe well – let alone go for a walk or chase a ball without gasping for air – because of their unnaturally shortened airways.

Additionally, Crufts causes further harm by sending the message that purebred dogs are more desirable than mixed-breeds, leading many people to buy “must-have” breeds while thousands of healthy, lovable dogs languish in animal shelters, desperately in need of good homes.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk.

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