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Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh Live
World
James Rodger & Katie Williams

Calls for Pugs and French Bulldogs to be banned in UK over campaign for dangerous 'over-breeding'

Certain breeds of dogs could be banned across the UK as part of a new 'strict' new crackdown on dangerous breeding.

A pet charity has pledged to bring a stop to legal breeding of French Bulldogs and Pugs due to a 'vicious cycle of over breeding'.

The Blue Cross announced some parties are guilty of a 'vicious cycle of over-breeding'.

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As Birmingham Live reports, the leading animal charity believes that a rise in demand has come from prominent advertisements on social media advertising the 'cute' breeds. Therefore the increase in demand has led to more Frenchies and Pugs being bred specifically and diagnosed with serious health issues.

Some French Bulldogs can be diagnosed with conditions such as pulmonic stenosis, which is where the dog has 3/6 heart murmur, a genetic in the breed.

Becky Thwaites, Head of Public Affairs at Blue Cross told The Sun: "We have already started contacting MPs. Ultimately Blue Cross is determined to see the end of the poor breeding of flat faced dogs and are considering all options both legislative and non-legislative to achieve this."

The charity warns that the explosion in popularity has exacerbated poor breeding with 20 per cent of dogs in the UK are now flat face and Blue Cross vets claim to have treated over 5,000 brachycephalic pets in the last two years alone.

Currently the four breeds of dogs that are banned in the UK are; the Pit Bull Terrier, Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino and Fila Brasileiro.

The Government states that 'whether your dog is a banned type depends on what it looks like, rather than its breed or name'.

The RSPCA argues that dogs 'should not be judged on how they look' and have called for the policy to be changed. If you have a banned dog the police or council warden can take it away, even if it's not acting dangerously or there has not been a complaint.

If the dog is in a public place the police can confiscate the animal, however, if it's in a private place the police need a warrant.

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