|
New figures show that some traditional breeds of dogs are in danger of becoming extinct. There are now 24 breeds that have produced so few puppies that they are below the numbers needed to ensure their survival.
Mostly they are old breeds of working dogs, such as Skye terriers, Otterhounds, smooth collies and field spaniels. A birthrate of 300 plus puppies need to be born each year to ensure a viable adult population. But some breeds, such as the Glen of Imaal terriers only produced 41 puppies last year.
All pedigree puppies born are registered with the Kennel Club so the numbers are readily available. The birthrates are alamingly low:
41 puppies born to Glen of Imaal terriers, 51 to Otterhounds, 53 to Smooth Collies, 57 to Sealyham terriers, 64 to Field Spaniels, 70 to Bloodhounds, 74 to Sussex Spaniels, 78 to Dandie Dinmonts, 84 to Skye Terriers, and 84 Cardigan Welsh Corgis.
Breed at least one litter
This is something new - the recommendation is usually that you have your young dog neutered or spayed. But unless these native dogs are allowed to breed, their lines will die out.
The Breeds Preservation Trust has lobbied the Vet Nurses Association in an effort to identify adult dogs in these breeds and persuade their owners not to have them neutered or spayed. At least one litter please?
In contrast the Labrador Retrievers registered a whopping 45,700 puppies last year. No problems there then.
Trackback(0)
 |
TrackBack URI for this entry
Subscribe to this comment's feed