CaseyKC
Active Member
“The sausage dog is part of Germany’s cultural heritage,” Marion Michelet, chairwoman from the Deutscher Teckelklub Berlin-Brandenburg kennel club and owner of a dachshund called Pepper, told CNN Wednesday. “The sausage dog is not inbred just because it is small and has short legs.”
Michelet added that she believes “the new draft law is exaggerated… and is aimed against breeding as a whole.”
The VDH has launched a petition to save “our favorite dogs,” arguing the reform would leave too much room for interpretation in determining what constitutes a genetic defect.
As of Wednesday, the petition had attracted more than 15,000 signatures.
On its website, the VDH said that “many of the proposed changes, such as regulating the online trade in animals or taking action against illegal puppy trade, make sense.”
“However, the animal protection law contains requirements that could mean the end of many healthy dog breeds in Germany,” it added.
Michelet told CNN that the “abnormalities of the skeletal system” could be seen as a ban on breeding for “any significant size deviation from wolves,” which are the ancestor of all modern-day dogs.
Germany’s agriculture ministry denied that the new draft bill would amount to a ban on particular breeds, including the sausage dog.
“We are not seeking to ban the dachshund,” a spokesman of the agricultural ministry told CNN, adding: “What we are aiming at with this reform is a ban on torture breeding.”
The ministry said the new regulation seeks to prohibit breeding practices that inflict long–term suffering on the animals.
“We want to consistently protect animals from pain, suffering and damage,” the ministry said, adding that details of how the new regulations would work are still under discussion.
Kerstin Schwartz, a dachshund breeder and owner of 27 dogs from Brandenburg near Berlin, told CNN that the proposed reform is “outrageous.”
She argued that the kennel club she belongs to has adhered to the same breeding standards since 1888. “For 136 years we have not changed our standard breeding practices.”
“If the breeding ban happens it would have a significant impact” on dog breeders like her, she said, adding: “I hope it won’t come to that.”
Michelet added that she believes “the new draft law is exaggerated… and is aimed against breeding as a whole.”
The VDH has launched a petition to save “our favorite dogs,” arguing the reform would leave too much room for interpretation in determining what constitutes a genetic defect.
As of Wednesday, the petition had attracted more than 15,000 signatures.
On its website, the VDH said that “many of the proposed changes, such as regulating the online trade in animals or taking action against illegal puppy trade, make sense.”
“However, the animal protection law contains requirements that could mean the end of many healthy dog breeds in Germany,” it added.
Michelet told CNN that the “abnormalities of the skeletal system” could be seen as a ban on breeding for “any significant size deviation from wolves,” which are the ancestor of all modern-day dogs.
Germany’s agriculture ministry denied that the new draft bill would amount to a ban on particular breeds, including the sausage dog.
“We are not seeking to ban the dachshund,” a spokesman of the agricultural ministry told CNN, adding: “What we are aiming at with this reform is a ban on torture breeding.”
The ministry said the new regulation seeks to prohibit breeding practices that inflict long–term suffering on the animals.
“We want to consistently protect animals from pain, suffering and damage,” the ministry said, adding that details of how the new regulations would work are still under discussion.
Kerstin Schwartz, a dachshund breeder and owner of 27 dogs from Brandenburg near Berlin, told CNN that the proposed reform is “outrageous.”
She argued that the kennel club she belongs to has adhered to the same breeding standards since 1888. “For 136 years we have not changed our standard breeding practices.”
“If the breeding ban happens it would have a significant impact” on dog breeders like her, she said, adding: “I hope it won’t come to that.”