Moonpig Ban Flat-Faced Dog Cards
Moonpig announced today that they have stopped the sale of greetings cards featuring Brachycephalic dog breeds, specifically pugs and French bulldogs, due to animal welfare concerns.
Brachycephalic refers to a number of dog breeds (and other animals) who have been selectively bred to accentuate the appearance of a flat face. Peta say that these dogs have been bred for a specific look which results in shorter airways causing numerous issues such as laboured breathing, snorting, gagging, collapsing and even death.
The most obvious issue is these dogs having breathing difficulties because the shortened head hinders the passage of air. The resulting Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome (BOAS) can be extremely distressing and life limiting. Imagine spending your whole life struggling to breathe.
Flat faced Brachycephalic dogs can also suffer with painful dental issues, skin problems, eye conditions and spinal deformities. On a more day to day level they can be prone to vomiting and can suffer more easily with exercise intolerance and heatstroke.
The BVA are concerned that the growing popularity of flat faced dogs in advertising and on cards and gifts only helps to normalise the look of squashed noses and bulging eyes in dogs, with people seeing these features as cute rather than as cruel and intentionally bred deformities.
The animal rights group Peta have also raised concerns about the promotion of breathing-impaired dogs such as pugs and French bulldogs on things like greetings cards.
"Last year, the British Veterinary Association (BVA) wrote to the Greeting Card Association and card retailers, including Moonpig, Paperchase and WH Smith, urging them to stop using pugs and other flat-faced dogs on cards." say The Guardian.
These sort of deformities intentionally bred into dogs is not something that should be promoted and this has resulted in Moonpig's agreement to stop selling cards that show these breeds. Selective breeding by humans, when trying to create cute and desirable dogs, has actually created deformed animals with life limiting conditions.
Yvonne Taylor, director of corporate projects at Peta, said "By banning images of pugs and French bulldogs, Moonpig is acting responsibly and helping put an end to the promotion of dog breeds with painful, life-threatening deformities."
How can you get involved?
The BVA are calling for collective action to improve the health and welfare of brachycephalic (or flat-faced) dogs, such as English bulldogs, French bulldogs, and pugs.