Cats and dogs are increasingly cherished members of many of our homes. With nearly half of European households owning at least one pet, these animals play an integral role in our life.
However, behind the smiling pictures and endearing anecdotes of pet ownership lies a lesser known but dark and shocking reality. Many of these dogs and cats have been deliberately produced with body shapes to feature extreme physical traits that are not natural to their anatomy and are causing chronic health issues and lifelong suffering.
Unethical and illegal breeding practices are increasingly being used to produce cats and dogs with “popular” yet unhealthy physical features - a dangerous trend with a significant impact on the welfare of companion pets.
The scale of this problem is enormous. The global pet population has now surpassed 1 billion, and Europe alone is home to almost 300 million pets. As consumer demand to own a pet continues to rise, so too are low-welfare breeding practices to produce cats and dogs with extreme body shapes and often in appalling conditions which are unethical, but also often illegal. Targeted regulation is urgently needed to stamp these practices out and put a stop to the trend for extreme conformation in pets.
The Choose Health Coalition is a group founded by Royal Canin in 2024 which unites leading organizations from across the pet ecosystem, including FOUR PAWS, the Fédération Cynologique Internationale, the ICECDogs, the Royal Veterinary College, the World Cat Congress, and the World Small Animal Veterinary Association.
Together the Coalition is drawing attention to this issue and promoting regulatory change and other activities that will deliver better outcomes for Europe’s animals. The Coalition’s first report, United for the Future of Cats and Dogs, offers particular focus on the increasing use of online platforms in the pet acquisition process and the tragic impact this is having on the animals’ health.
The rise of extreme conformation and ‘killer’ looks
Over the last century, cats and dogs with atypical and extreme physical traits have risen in popularity with the wider public as pets. Now social media platforms have turbo-charged this cultural focus on ‘cute’ but extreme aesthetics, despite them being inherently unhealthy. From extreme flat-faced dogs that struggle to breathe, to cats with exaggerated features that impair their ability to groom or move, these widely promoted traits of suffering are celebrated across media and social media, with little attention on the negative health impacts they have on the animals.
Extreme conformation – defined by ICECDogs as “a deviation from natural anatomy that leads to poor health and reduced quality of life” – affects both pedigree and non-pedigree pets. Pets are increasingly bred to meet popular aesthetic trends, often at the expense of their wellbeing. Examples of breeds and “look-alike” type of dogs that are commonly affected include French Bulldogs, Pugs, Shar Peis and show-line German Shepherds.
Online platforms putting pet welfare at risk
As well as driving the demand for extreme conformation trends, social media and digital platforms are also making advertising and acquiring a pet easier than ever before – and perhaps too easy. The convenience of our “one click” buying culture comes at a cost to these animals’ welfare, by driving an illegal trade focused on profit making. Nearly half of puppies bought online are taken home before the legal age of eight weeks and many are sold without formal health checks, socialization or verification of their breeding environment. Sadly, a third fall ill shortly after purchase, and a quarter of pets found on social media die before their fifth birthday.
The low-welfare breeding practices behind these tragic consequences are part of a shadow pet economy worth an estimated €1.3 to €4.6 billion in the EU alone. It is an integrated web of fraudulent listings, limited (or totally absent) traceability and widespread non-compliance with welfare standards which have together created a system where profit is prioritized over animal health.
The ramifications are being felt across Europe. The ill health that these pets suffer means they are more likely to be abandoned, causing emotional and financial hardship for owners and placing increased pressure on shelters and public services. What’s more, breeders of cats and dogs who want to breed physically healthy animals (animals with good innate health) in good breeding conditions are increasingly being pushed out of the market as they are unable to compete with those low-welfare producers and sellers who operate without regulatory consequences.
The result is a vicious cycle: social media drives consumer demand, which fuels unethical breeding, which in turn normalizes suffering and erodes public trust in the pet ecosystem at large.
Closing the regulatory gap
To fix the consumer demand side of the challenge, we must re-set our cultural preferences to focus on physical health in cats and dogs over extreme looks. However, to tackle the pet production problem, Europe urgently needs a coordinated regulatory framework to effectively address unethical breeding practices and poor traceability. The EU’s proposed regulation on the welfare and traceability of cats and dogs is a great step forward and is evidence that policymakers recognize the unique vulnerabilities of the pet sector.
Moving forward, it is important that such regulations continue to hold attention and are well enforced, to ensure we have a cohesive regulatory system that protects the welfare of animals at every stage – from conception to sale and beyond. A system that is grounded in science, genuinely enforceable and enforced, and tailored to the realities of the entire pet production ecosystem.
Momentum is building and the time for change is now, because without it, those breeders who aim to produce physically healthy animals are at real risk of being driven out of the system while unethical low-welfare practices such as producing cats and dogs with extreme conformation will continue to grow.
Uniting for change
The Choose Health Coalition is committed to:
- Promoting breeding for good innate health and functional anatomy.
- Raising awareness of the risks of low-welfare breeding practices and extreme conformation.
- Supporting responsible acquisition and ownership of animals with natural body shapes and produced in high-welfare breeding programmes.
- Advocating for balanced, science-based regulation across Europe.
Our ambition is clear: to eliminate low-welfare pet production and extreme conformation, and to promote a culture where health and welfare in cats and dogs are prioritised.
But improving pet welfare does not just sit with breeders and policymakers; it requires a society-wide approach. In this context, the Coalition call for:
- Breeders and judges to adopt an evidence-based approach to breeding and celebrate good innate health.
- Future pet owners to do thorough research to avoid acquiring pets with extreme looks and to choose breeders who breed animals with natural body shapes.
- Veterinarians to use their platforms to educate and advocate for responsible breeding practices.
- Influencers and marketers to showcase pets with good innate health and avoid glamourising harmful extreme traits.
- Authorities to implement consistent, science-based regulations to protect pet welfare.
- The general public to promote, demand and engage with content on pets with good innate health.
This is not about banning breeds but about changing the perception of a desired cat and dog; it’s about promoting innate health to give every cat and dog a better quality of life. Whether you are a show judge, breeder, veterinarian, policymaker, or simply a pet owner/lover, we all have a role to play in driving positive change.
Together, we can end the cycle of suffering from extreme conformation over the past century and build a future where cats and dogs are bred, acquired and cared for with the compassion, responsibility and respect they deserve.
