French bulldog no longer a high profile breed
After a number of health initiatives, the French bulldog has been removed from the Kennel Club's high profile list.
French bulldogs are no longer listed as a high profile breed, thanks to numerous initiatives to improve the health and welfare of the breed.
The latest Kennel Club health report states: "The breed has taken a consistently proactive approach to health and welfare and fulfilled all the criteria for removal.” The club called this a "positive step forward for the breed."
High profile or "category three" breeds are those identified by the Kennel Club as having visible conditions that can cause pain and discomfort due to exaggerations.
Prior to 2006, there were around 500 French bulldog puppy registrations per year, according to the breed's health co-ordinator, Penny Rankine-Parsons.
The number of registrations rapidly began to climb, however, and by 2009 they had tripled. Likewise, Mrs Rankine-Parsons says the number being imported from Eastern European countries was rising "at an alarming rate".
As a result, the French Bulldog Club of England (FBCE) recommended a number of changes to the breed standard during the Kennel Club's major review of standards in 2009.
A health scheme was launched allowing French bulldogs over the age of one to have a breed-specific health check by a vet, bringing any problems to the attention of the owner.
In October 2010 the French Bulldog Health Scheme was launched to further generate data on health problems in the breed and inform people about whether they should breed their dogs.
The scheme is split into three categories - bronze, consisting of a basic vet check; silver, a DNA test for hereditary cataracts, a cardiology test and patella grading and; gold, a hip score and spine evaluation.
FBCE holds regular clinics at its three yearly shows, offers twice-yearly discounts on hereditary cataract DNA testing and has developed its website and Facebook page to provide more owners, breeders and judges with health information.
Following the breed's removal from the high profile list, Mrs Rankine-Parsons says a number of initiatives are planned for 2014. These include establishing a health group, a review of the health scheme, and the undertaking of a general health survey to include a cause of death survey.
Defra has published guidance for the vet sector ahead of a proposed UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement.
