Given the market for pure-bred dogs, it’s no surprise that Bangalore is home to a brisk business in dog-breeding.
What most animal lovers remain unaware of, however, are the poor living conditions and cruel treatment that these animals are subjected to.
Over the years, the breeding industry has become increasingly commercialised, with animals being sold for tens of thousand of rupees.
And like in any other profit-driven industry, breeders are constantly looking to trim their costs — sometimes with horrific results.
Metrolife attempts to find out more about the business. One of the main problems related to commercialisation is the issue of in-breeding, due to which dogs become prone to exaggerated genetic defects.
Most breeders take to in-breeding in a bid to cut down their costs. Santosh, a trustee at CUPA, explains, “When two dogs are crossed, the owner of the female has to pay a huge sum to the owner of the male, and also hand over one of the puppies. An obvious way to cut costs is to cross mothers and sons, or brothers and sisters — which many breeders do.”
The consequences of this are alarming. Dr Nanjundappa, a vet, describes some of them. “In these cases, you might not notice problems with the first generation of puppies, but you start to see issues with the second and third. Some common issues that come up are blindness and deafness, even in young puppies. Their lifespan is also reduced,” he says
Not surprisingly, such genetic problems have become very common amongst pure-bred dogs.
While Dr Nanjundappa identifies dalmatians as one breed which is prone to such issues, Santosh admits that it’s also common among German Shepherds. “I once came across an in-bred German Shepherd whose pancreas were completely damaged — at the age of one-and-a-half years,” he recollects.
Shruthi, who owns a five-year-old male labrador, has also experienced some such problems. “I adopted him from a couple who didn’t want him, and he’s a pure-breed. Soon after, my vet told me that his haemoglobin count is too low — which is partially a genetic problem. We even had to perform a blood transfusion for him,” she recalls.
An interesting example of such genetic effects is in the case of pugs, a popular and expensive breed. As Santosh explains, pugs are imported from Thailand for about Rs 9,000, and are sold here for a price between Rs 30,000 and Rs 40,000.
The problem, however, lies in their genetically-flattened faces. Dr Nanjundappa explains, “Pugs are not an original breed. They have flat faces and noses, and it’s been genetically proven that they have major respiratory diseases because of this.”
The cruelty doesn’t stop at in-breeding however. Santosh claims that dogs are housed in terrible conditions, and females are fed and sheltered only as long as they can bear puppies.
“After that, they’re abandoned. The infrastructure is also terrible: dogs are stored in wire-boxes like chickens, and taken out only when they’re about to be crossed. Breeders also sell puppies when they’re much too young to leave their mothers, because of which many die,” he concludes.