Weird Asia News

Breeders have been breeding for certain physical characteristics as long as dogs and horses have been domesticated.

Which is so, so wrong, since we’re bypassing evolution and replacing it with our own intelligence. Outbreeding in dog breeds is so often necessary to reintroduce good genes due to the harm we do to them with our “selective” breeding. Ever own a Persian cat? Ugh, talk about a nightmare of problems forever emptying your wallet through vet visits. Kittens of accidental birth, adopted from shelters, for me, not pets bred solely for cash. Never had one with a genetic problem yet. However, purebred/pedigree pets are so rife with problems it makes me pity them and the people who obsess about them. Abandoned pets get ignored because someone HAS to have a purebred, even though that animal may be much weaker and more prone to defects due to the extensive human intervention in its breeding.

Remember the Scottish Fold kittens now becoming so popular on the internet because they’re so cute? Random genetic mutation from a stray (as the story goes), not a particular trait bred specifically in what basically amounts to a kitty laboratory run not by scientists but by pet enthusiasts and backyard breeders (which is what the Japanese dog breeding system basically consists of–I just read an article several months ago about the state of some of the pets they’re experimenting on when creating new “breeds.” They’re so deformed and crippled it makes one want to cry–google info about Japanese dog breeders for more information about the sorry state of Japanese selective dog breeding).

Granted, I’m sure eventually someone will try to create a “purebred” line of Scottish Folds, rife with genetic problems, simply to ensure a 100% ear fold rate, as well as certain, more desirable, coat colours and lengths.

The Persian cat I owned (back when I was a little kid and had no understanding of the damage caused by breeders who know nothing), was a drooling mess of behavioural problems and genetic defects, peeing all over. No thanks. I’d prefer to let nature take its course. Humans are irresponsible and know less than nature does (or God, if that’s the way you swing). We’re weakening the pet species. Even the most responsible breeder usually isn’t a geneticist, but the worst problem would be the backyard breeders looking to make a buck, and the people who buy from them because little Johnny wants a bulldog (with all their respiratory problems, et cetera) and won’t settle for saving a pet from the pound.