This article was originally posted on Newsweek by Jess Thomson.
While dachshunds and French bulldogs may be adorable and some of the most charming pets around, animal welfare campaigners say that we should stop breeding them.
The two breeds have been reared to have trademark flattened faces for Frenchies and tiny legs for dachshunds, but the traits are now so extreme that many of the dogs struggle to breathe or walk properly, leading to health issues and high vet bills for owners.
So animal welfare advocates in the U.S. and Europe are suggesting that breeding dogs to have a characteristic that makes life harder for the animal should be banned, or at least restricted from pushing for the harmful traits.
“I don’t know if anyone is breeding to hurt the animal,” Mark Wells, an assistant professor of philosophy at Northeastern University who researches political protection for animals, told Northeastern Global News. “But owners get used to it when every breath their French bulldog takes is labored.”
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