The hidden cost of pet breeding

Why do we need to talk about pet breeding? Each year millions of pets are bought but many of them come from poor breeding practices. This causes a lot of species to have genetic issues like the pug and its breathing problems for example. Responsible breeding is never really enforced and many of them operate under the radar and through loopholes.

The animals are often held in poor conditions like small cages or overcrowded areas. They have little access to veterinary care and the mothers are often just used as a breeding machine. This causes the young to be sick, traumatized and be poorly socialized which brings problems later on. These things are also the reason many of these pets get sent to a shelter which then fill up fast. Then they need to get euthanised because no one wants a weak and already older pet.

Everyone knows that pugs and other flat faced dogs have severe breathing issues. But there are also a lot of different animals, mainly cats and dogs, that have defects. Smaller dogs often have fragile bones and organ problems. Another example I recently stumbled upon is the fold cat, or cats whose ears are folded double. This cute defect also causes half of them to have arthritis, joint pain and other bone problems which hurts all the time.

Why do people buy them you might ask. Poor breeding practices make for cuter looking pets or they are just cheaper to buy. What people don't think about is that they will often pay more for these poorly bred animals because of the cost of veterinary care. Another reason is the fact that most people don't really know about these problems as well as the difference between breeders which is why we should talk about this more.

Written by: Mylan Loyens

References:

https://icatcare.org/articles/scottish-fold-osteochondrodysplasia

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10930939/